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Trump denies U.S. sought to weaken French language in Canada trade talks

Published 25 August 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump publicly accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of lying about a key reason for the collapse of bilateral trade negotiations, denying claims that American negotiators sought to weaken French language protections in Canada. The exchange of accusations on Tuesday deepened the diplomatic rift following the failure of a trade deal that had been intended to avert new tariffs. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, Trump called Carney a "weak and ineffective Prime Minister" and rejected the assertion that the French language was an irritant in the talks.

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