Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back against suggestions that Ontario Premier Doug Ford was responsible for the collapse of trade talks with the United States, saying the decision to walk away ultimately rested with him and his cabinet. 

“I’m the prime minister. Ultimately, I am responsible with the cabinet for those decisions,” Carney told iPolitics Tuesday at a press conference. 

Carney told reporters that premiers, labour groups and other stakeholders were consulted throughout negotiations, but maintained the final decision rested with the federal government. He pointed to an accumulation of unresolved issues, including protections for language and culture to negotiate future trade deals and terms that could lock key industries into an uncompetitive arrangement. 

Carney also criticized Washington’s broader approach to the negotiations, saying the U.S. appeared to be seeking terms that could either make core Canadian industries effectively subsidiaries of their American counterparts or gradually wind them down in Canada. 

“We’re not, of course, we’re not going to accept those terms,” Carney said. 

Carney said Canada and the U.S. had been moving toward elements of a “mutually beneficial deal,” but never reached an agreement. 

His comments came as the Liberal party swept all three of Monday’s byelections in Chicoutimi–Le Fjord, North Vancouver–Capilano and Beaches–East York. 

“The message from Canadians, I think, is clear. They’ve given their support–more than 50 per cent in each of these ridings–to the government’s plan,” Carney said.