“The Americans are counting their victories in what they got from Canada and Trudeau is counting his victories in what he didn’t have to give away… This deal includes a cap, a limit to what Canadian agricultural producers can sell to other countries. Not the U.S., not to Mexico, but to other countries. That is devastating to our agricultural communities. It’s unprecedented for a government, for a prime minister to agree, in order to please the Americans, not to sell to other countries so that they can sell, so that American farmers can fill that market. … This deal is not better than what we had going into these talks. There’s no gains for Canada. It’s all concessions, no victories.” — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer
“Trudeau has just sacrificed tens of thousands of good jobs in Canada. He has given in to Donald Trump and given up the last lever Canada had to protect farmers and tens of thousands of workers in Canada’s aluminum and steel industries. The Trudeau government promised repeatedly that it would defend Canada’s supply management system and fight against Trump’s illegal tariffs, but instead he has dealt a devastating blow to supply management and signed away any leverage we had to stop the tariffs.” —NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
“While the agreement falls short of what North American business sought, it generally maintains tariff-free access for Canadian products, retains the labour mobility provisions, strengthens intellectual property protections, and ensures Canada has access to the most crucial aspects of dispute settlement. However, much work remains to be done. We are now entering a difficult ratification process in the United States. It is crucial that our government and Canadian and U.S. businesses continue making the case to U.S. legislators that speedy ratification is important for all three countries to enjoy the benefits of trade certainty.” — Canadian Chamber of Commerce