OTTAWA — A sharp divide has emerged among Canadian leaders over whether to wield the nation’s vast potash supply as a bargaining chip in looming trade negotiations with the United States.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford promoted the critical fertilizer mineral as a powerful negotiating tool to protect domestic interests. However, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe swiftly rejected the idea, warning that export restrictions would deliver a catastrophic blow to his province’s resource-driven economy.

Trade analysts describe the standoff as a dangerous game of chicken that could severely destabilize cross-border agricultural supply chains.