US Justice Department pauses cooperation with Canadian government, WSJ reports

The U.S. Justice ​Department's antitrust division was instructed ‌earlier this ​week to pause all work with the Canadian government, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing ‌emails, amid a trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa.

Such a U.S. action would mark the latest escalation in a feud between the neighboring nations, who have ‌been close allies for decades, but have been at odds over ‌trade and other issues since Donald Trump returned to the White House in early 2025. An ongoing trade spat has spawned tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border ⁠trade. Trump has ​frequently suggested Canada ⁠should be an American state, and last week ordered Lake Ontario renamed "Lake America" for U.S. ⁠federal government purposes, a distinction that does not affect what Canada or anyone else ​calls the lake.

Lynda Marshall, chief of the antitrust division's international section, ordered ⁠officials in an email Wednesday to stop all cooperation on cases and engagement on ⁠policy ​issues with Canadian authorities, without providing a reason for the directive, the report said. On Friday, section chiefs in the division were also asked ⁠in another email to provide lists detailing areas of cooperation with Canada by the ⁠end of the ⁠day, the Journal added.

The White House, the DOJ and the Canadian government did not immediately respond to requests ‌for comment.