Canada must avoid overreacting to escalating US trade actions and approach the upcoming Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review with discipline and strategic calm. Meredith Lilly argues that Canada should avoid knee-jerk responses to US provocations and focus instead on long-term economic and diplomatic priorities. Her message: show restraint, work closely with Mexico, and let seasoned trade officials guide the process.
This Graph of the Week shows the proportion of businesses by size involved in goods trade with other countries, including a breakdown just for the United States. Across all business sizes, few firms trade to “all destinations” that also don’t trade with the US, indicating low diversification and vulnerability to the US market. Imports are more geographically diversified, with more […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: June 11, 2025Re: A Last Roundup for the Group of Seven? As this weekend’s G7 meeting in Kananaskis nears, the mood is overwhelmingly coloured by fear of a public blowup between Donald Trump and the other leaders over tariffs, leading to a US walkout that would shatter the proceedings and […]
From: Jon JohnsonTo: Trade WatchersDate: June 10, 2025Re: The Trump Tariffs and the US Tariff Schedule – Where Does CUSMA Stand? The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA in the United States) was negotiated and came into effect during first Trump administration with strong support from the president. While it did not radically depart from […]
Introduction Canada faces a dual strategic challenge: an emerging trade war with the United States threatens our economy and fiscal capacity, while chronic underfunding for defence has left us strategically vulnerable and increasingly unable to meet our NATO commitments. Both our prosperity and our territorial integrity are at risk. “Guns or butter?” is the classic […]
June 5, 2025 – A new working paper from the C.D. Howe Institute suggests that Canada could leverage increased defence spending and targeted US procurement commitments to help restore tariff-free trade in a manner that can reinforce national sovereignty. The paper outlines how a time-bound alignment of defence and trade policy could offer Canada renewed […]
To: Canada’s ministers of health and ministers of financeFrom: Rosalie WyonchDate: May 29, 2025Re: Trump’s Pharma Pricing Order Could Have Big Canadian Consequences Donald Trump’s May 12 executive order that US drug prices must not exceed the lowest price in other nations doesn’t mention Canada explicitly, but could cause significant damage to our public healthcare system […]
Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. US concerns over Canada’s digital services tax, dairy tariff quotas, and demands for tighter auto rules of origin will drive tensions at the July 1, 2026 deadline for a trilateral review of CUSMA (or USMCA in the United States) approaches.
May 23, 2025 – Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. The expert group, which met on May 16, warns that Canada cannot […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 22, 2025Re: Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times In four short months, Donald Trump’s second presidency has disrupted the circulatory system of global trade. In addition to the toll so far and potential further costs of his tariff war, which has closed off the US market to […]
From January to April 2025, employment declined significantly in several trade-exposed sectors, with manufacturing alone shedding over 42,000 jobs. Notable losses were also seen in agriculture and business support services. These declines suggest early impacts of rising trade tensions, particularly in industries tied to cross-border supply chains and export markets. In contrast, more domestically oriented […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Brenda González-HermosilloDate: May 15, 2025Re: Trump’s Tariffs have Wide Global Implications The world economy and financial markets are at their highest level of stress since the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 shock. The narrative is largely focused on the impact of frequently modified announcements of large US tariffs on specific […]
Membership Application
Interested in becoming a Member of the C.D. Howe Institute? Please fill out the application form below and our team will be in touch with next steps. Note that Membership is subject to approval.
"*" indicates required fields
Member Login
Not a Member yet? Visit our Membership page to learn more and apply.
Canada must avoid overreacting to escalating US trade actions and approach the upcoming Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review with discipline and strategic calm. Meredith Lilly argues that Canada should avoid knee-jerk responses to US provocations and focus instead on long-term economic and diplomatic priorities. Her message: show restraint, work closely with Mexico, and let seasoned trade officials guide the process. 
This Graph of the Week shows the proportion of businesses by size involved in goods trade with other countries, including a breakdown just for the United States. Across all business sizes, few firms trade to “all destinations” that also don’t trade with the US, indicating low diversification and vulnerability to the US market. Imports are more geographically diversified, with more […] 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: June 11, 2025Re: A Last Roundup for the Group of Seven? As this weekend’s G7 meeting in Kananaskis nears, the mood is overwhelmingly coloured by fear of a public blowup between Donald Trump and the other leaders over tariffs, leading to a US walkout that would shatter the proceedings and […] 
From: Jon JohnsonTo: Trade WatchersDate: June 10, 2025Re: The Trump Tariffs and the US Tariff Schedule – Where Does CUSMA Stand? The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA in the United States) was negotiated and came into effect during first Trump administration with strong support from the president. While it did not radically depart from […] 
Introduction Canada faces a dual strategic challenge: an emerging trade war with the United States threatens our economy and fiscal capacity, while chronic underfunding for defence has left us strategically vulnerable and increasingly unable to meet our NATO commitments. Both our prosperity and our territorial integrity are at risk. “Guns or butter?” is the classic […] 
To: Canada’s ministers of health and ministers of financeFrom: Rosalie WyonchDate: May 29, 2025Re: Trump’s Pharma Pricing Order Could Have Big Canadian Consequences Donald Trump’s May 12 executive order that US drug prices must not exceed the lowest price in other nations doesn’t mention Canada explicitly, but could cause significant damage to our public healthcare system […] 
Canada must take a strategic approach combined with clear tactics as it heads toward a full renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2026, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Trade Crisis Working Group. US concerns over Canada’s digital services tax, dairy tariff quotas, and demands for tighter auto rules of origin will drive tensions at the July 1, 2026 deadline for a trilateral review of CUSMA (or USMCA in the United States) approaches. 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Lawrence HermanDate: May 22, 2025Re: Reforming Canada’s Trade Remedy System for Turbulent Times In four short months, Donald Trump’s second presidency has disrupted the circulatory system of global trade. In addition to the toll so far and potential further costs of his tariff war, which has closed off the US market to […] 
From January to April 2025, employment declined significantly in several trade-exposed sectors, with manufacturing alone shedding over 42,000 jobs. Notable losses were also seen in agriculture and business support services. These declines suggest early impacts of rising trade tensions, particularly in industries tied to cross-border supply chains and export markets. In contrast, more domestically oriented […] 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Brenda González-HermosilloDate: May 15, 2025Re: Trump’s Tariffs have Wide Global Implications The world economy and financial markets are at their highest level of stress since the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 shock. The narrative is largely focused on the impact of frequently modified announcements of large US tariffs on specific […]