US DOJ’s antitrust division asked to pause cooperation with Canadian government, WSJ reports

On Sept. 4, Reuters reported that the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust division was directed earlier this week to pause all collaboration with the Canadian government, according to emails cited by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, amid an ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa.

Canada and the United States, allies for decades, have grown increasingly strained over trade and other issues since President Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025. The conflict has already led to tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in goods crossing the border.

The Justice Department labeled the report false in an emailed statement to Reuters, asserting that the “alleged direction was never given to anyone.”

The department explained that the division had instead been requested to “temporarily hold off on a scheduled meeting on a specific investigation until the DOJ’s antitrust team had more time to prepare.”

The White House referred Reuters to the Justice Department for comment, while the Canadian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has frequently suggested that Canada should become an American state, and last week ordered Lake Ontario be renamed “Lake America” for U.S. federal government purposes—a distinction that does not affect the name Canada or others use for the lake.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Lynda Marshall, chief of the antitrust division’s international section, instructed officials in a Wednesday email to stop all cooperation on cases and engagement on policy issues with Canadian authorities, without providing a reason for the directive.

The report added that on Friday, division section chiefs were asked in another email to provide lists detailing areas of cooperation with Canada by the end of the day.