Prime Minister Mark Carney told U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada is “never for sale” after the president once again mused about the U.S. taking over Canada during a high-stakes White House meeting on the future of the Canada-U.S. relationship.
Carney travelled to Washington on Monday, his first foreign trip since winning a minority Liberal government in last week’s federal election, for what the prime minister has said will be the first in a series of talks on tariffs, military cooperation and other issues.
“This is a bigger discussion,” Carney told reporters in the Oval Office. “There are much bigger forces involved, and this will take some time and some discussions. And that’s why we’re here, to have those discussions.”
Carney told reporters after the meeting that his afternoon discussions with Trump and other administration officials were “constructive” and “wide-ranging” and said more talks would come in the future, including at the upcoming G7 Summit in Alberta. He struck a positive tone despite Trump appearing unwilling to budge on his trade war and sometimes disparaging rhetoric toward Canada.
“These are the discussions you have when you’re looking to find solutions, as opposed to laying down terms, if you will,” Carney said. “We have more work to do. I’m not trying to suggest in any respect that we can have one meeting and everything’s changed, but now we are engaged and very fully engaged.”
Carney said his government will continue to press for Trump’s tariffs on Canada to be lifted and for Canadian auto, steel and aluminum sectors to play a role in Trump’s strategy to bring auto manufacturing back to the U.S.
Earlier in the Oval Office, he called Trump a “transformational president” who has similar aims as Carney to help middle-class workers, secure borders and stop the flow of fentanyl and other deadly opioids.
Trump said he wanted to see a “friendly” relationship between the two countries and that new agreements on trade will be possible, though he said nothing would convince him to lift his punishing tariffs on Canada immediately.
But the conversation quickly turned to Trump’s repeated annexation threats toward Canada, which Trump told reporters would be a “beautiful marriage” and called the border between the two countries “artificial.”
“I’m a real estate developer at heart,” Trump said with Carney sitting next to him. “When you get rid of that artificially-drawn line — somebody drew that line many years ago with like a ruler, just a straight line right across the top of the country — when you look at that beautiful formation, when it’s together … I say, that’s the way it was meant to be.”
Carney responded: “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.”
The prime minister told reporters afterward that he asked Trump during their meeting to stop referring to Canada as the “51st state.”
Trump congratulated Carney for his Liberal Party’s come-from-behind win in the federal election, which was dominated by Trump’s attacks on Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
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He also credited Canada for “stepping up” its military spending in recent years, which Carney has vowed to increase further. But Trump still sought to get the final word on Canada one day becoming a U.S. state.
“Never say never,” Trump said. “I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable, and only doable in a very friendly way.”
Trump did say that he would respect Canadians’ wishes if they don’t want to become part of the U.S., but also said “time will tell.”
Before the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that his “only question of consequence” during the meeting will be “why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things?”
“They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!”
Carney did not push back when Trump brought up that claim at the end of the meeting.
Tuesday’s talks come ahead of a scheduled renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) set to begin next year, though Trump’s tariffs have thrown the trade pact negotiated during Trump’s first term into question.
The U.S. has exempted goods traded under CUSMA, including auto parts, from the tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Trump said CUSMA itself wouldn’t be on the table during Tuesday’s meetings, but mused that it may prove to be a “transitional step” toward a stronger Canada-U.S. trade deal.
“It is a basis for a broader negotiation,” Carney said. “Some things about it are going to have to change.”
Trump also took a veiled shot at former prime minister Justin Trudeau, who he has derisively called “governor,” and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who led the CUSMA negotiations on behalf of Canada.
“I won’t say this about Mark, but I didn’t like his predecessor,” Trump said. “I didn’t like a person that worked for (Trudeau) — she was terrible, actually. She was a terrible person, and she really hurt that deal very badly because she tried to take advantage of the deal and she didn’t get away with it. You know what I’m talking about.”
Trump said later at a White House event focused on the upcoming FIFA World Cup hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico that Carney is “a big step up” for Canada after Trudeau, who Trump said he “had a lot of fun with” by calling him “governor.”
“We had a great meeting today, really good,” he told reporters. “I think the relationship’s going to be very strong.”
Carney has promised to shore up Canada’s domestic economy, supply chains and defence spending and diversify international trade, all in an effort to move Canada away from reliance on the U.S.
Trump has long complained about the relationship with Canada, which he argues has “ripped off” the U.S. on trade, military spending and other issues. His claim that the U.S. “subsidizes” Canada with at least US$200 billion annually is based on an overestimate of the trade deficit with Canada, which economists say is mainly due to Canadian oil and gas exports.
Trump has imposed multiple levels of tariffs that have impacted Canada’s auto, steel and aluminum sectors, as part of a strategy to bolster U.S. manufacturing.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was in the room for Tuesday’s meeting, told Fox Business on Monday that getting a new trade deal with Canada is going to be “really complex.”
“They have basically been feeding off of us for decades upon decades upon decades,” he said. “They have their socialist regime and it’s basically feeding off of America.”
A new tariff threat was launched this week, when Trump proposed a 100 per cent tariff on foreign film production, with no details on how such a tariff would work. Canada is a top destination for Hollywood film shoots and post-production services.
Trump has also repeatedly suggested Canada should become part of the U.S., calling the border between the two countries “artificial.” He affirmed in recent interviews that he’s serious about the threat, but told NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that aired Sunday that annexing Canada with military action was “highly unlikely.”
Canadian politicians and business leaders were hopeful before and after the meeting that Tuesday’s talks would serve as a reset of the Canada-U.S. relationship.
“We need to put an end to these tariffs as quickly as possible, and so we’re here to help in any way we can,” Conservative MP Andrew Scheer told reporters in Ottawa after the party held its first caucus meeting since its election loss.
Scheer said he would take on the duties of the leader of the Opposition while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat in Parliament last week, seeks to re-enter the chamber in a future by-election.
“We want a good deal for Canada. … These threats of tariffs, the threats of annexation, all of that needs to stop. So we’re going to … do our very best as the official Opposition to hold the government to account, but to do what we can to help facilitate that, and we’ll see what the government brings forward.”
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement the business group was “impressed with the tone of the meeting and the momentum toward a reliable, close economic and security relationship.”
“Our two countries working and making things together will be mutually beneficial for decades to come, if we are able to keep discussions like today’s going.”
Toronto Region Board of Trade president and CEO Giles Gherson said in a statement the meeting marked “the opening chapter in what must be a comprehensive reboot of Canada’s economic strategy.”
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