Research
The New North America Initiative (NNAI) is developing a framework upon which to build a new era of co-operation and align foreign policy more closely with community-level experience.
Polling Research on Canada & U.S. Perspectives
Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office, trade tensions between Canada and the United States have increased sharply and the stakes for the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) renewal are high. Where do Americans and Canadians stand on the bilateral relationship between the two countries and on related issues?
This research project, conducted in partnership with Nanos Research and Ipsos Public Affairs, uses multiple waves and iterations of polling to understand how the Canada-U.S. relationship is broadly understood and how opinion shifts over an extended period of time.
The initial report, released June 30, asks where the two publics actually stand: on the relationship itself and co-operation across key policy areas beyond trade. It presents findings from two waves of nationally representative surveys conducted in Canada and the United States in spring 2026.
Publication
For Canada, a Shift from IEEPA to Section 232 Tariffs Will Be a Transition from National to Provincial Impacts
Carlo Dade & Sharon Zhengyang Sun
March 2026
Even if a U.S. court decision curtails Trump-era tariff actions under IEEPA, Canada’s trade vulnerability shifts toward other delegated tariff authorities, especially Section 232 national-security tariffs. Instead of economy-wide uncertainty, Canada faces a more sector-specific and province-specific pattern of exposure — different provinces are tied to different export products and will therefore face different levels of disruption.
Building Alberta's Trade Resilience
Insights from Stakeholder Roundtables
In partnership with Calgary Economic Development, Edmonton Global and Lethbridge Economic Development, We convened three closed-door roundtable sessions with Alberta trade stakeholders in Fall 2025, in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge.
These listening sessions, conducted under the Chatham House Rule, brought together business leaders, economic developers and other experts who were identified and invited by our partners.
This report contains grassroots intelligence on how U.S. trade disruptions are being felt and focuses on the ideas, new insights and opportunities identified by Alberta’s practitioners to inform actionable next steps.
Publication
Tariffs, the Executive Branch and Recent Developments in U.S. Trade Policy
Inu Manak
October 2025
President Trump has pursued an aggressive and unpredictable trade policy that directly affects Canada. Canada has responded with both targeted retaliatory measures and diplomatic engagement. U.S. trade policy under Trump is marked by protectionism, unpredictability and the possibly unconstitutional expansion of presidential authority. Ottawa must mitigate immediate economic damage while also bracing itself and preparing for a prolonged period of instability in its most important trading relationship.
Publication
The Prospects and Implications of Legal Challenges to President Trump’s IEEPA Tariffs
Timothy Meyers
October 2025
Since January 2025, President Trump has imposed an array of tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, often using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify his actions. Historically, IEEPA has been used to impose a range of economic sanctions, but it hasn't previously been used to impose tariffs. Firms/governments should prepare for continued trade volatility, maintain detailed tariff records, review for refund eligibility and monitor developments closely.