A delegation of U.S. senators visiting Ottawa is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to swiftly repeal Canada’s digital services tax, citing the need to stabilize trade relations and prevent further escalation with Washington.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon told reporters on Monday that Carney appeared receptive. “You all, to your credit, said you’re not going to collect it,” Wyden said. “I asked that Canada move as quickly as possible to get a law passed in Parliament making sure that it’s gone permanently. The prime minister was receptive to that. He said he would get on it in the fall.”
Carney had announced in late June that the tax would be eliminated just before a major retroactive payment—estimated at $2 billion—was due from U.S. tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Uber.
The tax, which proposed a three per cent levy on revenues earned from Canadian users by large digital companies, prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend bilateral trade talks. While the Canada Revenue Agency is not currently collecting the tax, it has stated that refunds will only be issued once legislation formally repealing the measure is passed. Google, which had imposed a surcharge in response to the tax last year, has also said it will delay customer refunds until the repeal is official.
With Parliament on summer break until September 15, legislative action is expected in the fall.
Wyden was joined by Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The bipartisan group met with Carney and other senior officials to address trade tensions and reaffirm U.S.-Canada relations.
Carney did not speak at length after the meeting but called the discussion “very good.”
According to a U.S. Senate Finance Committee media advisory, the senators’ visit aimed to reinforce the importance of economic ties between the two countries.
Tensions remain high as the trade dispute continues. In a letter to Carney on July 10, Trump threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by August 1, accusing Ottawa of stalling negotiations. Carney acknowledged last week that a deal with the U.S. may include some tariffs and said talks are expected to intensify ahead of the deadline.
On Sunday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reiterated that Canada will face tariffs unless it opens its market further to American interests.