Canada is not for sale, Carney tells Trump
- During their meeting, Trump praised Carney as “talented” while expressing a desire for Canada to consider joining the US, prompting Carney to assert that Canada “won’t be for sale, ever.”
- Tension arose as Trump insisted Canada needs to “take care of itself economically,” questioning the necessity of the US-Canada trade agreement and expressing disinterest in Canadian imports.
- The discussion touched on trade relations, with both leaders acknowledging the need for future negotiations while Carney aimed to strengthen Canada’s position against Trump’s tariff policies.
Canada is not for sale, Carney tells Trump
US President Donald Trump praised Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, as “a very talented person, a very good person” during their meeting on Tuesday.
“I love Canada,” Trump said during the White House meeting, in what could be seen as a change of tune despite Trump’s enduring aspirations to make Canada the 51st US state.
Trump used a much tougher language ahead of Carney’s arrival on his Truth Social platform, insisting that the United States doesn’t need “ANYTHING” from Canada.
He also claimed that America subsidizes Canada to the tune of $200 billion (€176 billion) a year, “in addition to giving it military protection, and many other things.”
Trump appeared to be referring to the US trade deficit with Canada, which stood at $63.3 billion in 2024, largely due to American imports of Canadian oil.
Carney says Canada ‘won’t be for sale, ever’
The topic of Canada joining the United States came up during the Oval Office meeting, with Trump admitting that “it takes two to tango.”
“It would really be a wonderful marriage,” the president said. But Carney responded by telling Trump that “as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” adding that Canada is “not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever.”
“But the opportunity is in the partnership and and what we can build together,” the prime minister asserted.
“Never say never,” Trump replied with a grin.
But when the US president mentioned that the Canadians might agree to join the United States “over a period of time,” Carney raised his hand and interrupted. “Respectfully, Canadians’ view on this is not going to change on the 51st state,” he said.
Trump was visibly tense and referenced his Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February, but insisted it wouldn’t happen again. “We had another little blow-up with somebody else, that was much different — this is a very friendly conversation,” Trump said.
Trump says Canada shoud ‘take care of itself economically’
The leaders also discussed trade, another hot topic in the bilateral relationship. Trump said that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), signed during Trump’s first term and set to expire next year, could be renegotiated.
Trump said he would consider renegotiating the trade deal, but questioned “whether it’s even necessary.”
Canada’s Prime Minister said: “It is a basis for a broader negotiation. Some things about it are going to have to change.”
Trump also said America’s northern neighbor would soon have to “take care of itself economically.” “We don’t really want cars from Canada, and we put tariffs on cars from Canada,” he said. “And at a certain point, it won’t make economic sense for Canada to build those cars.”
“We really don’t want Canadian steel, and we don’t want Canadian aluminum and various other things, because we want to be able to do it ourselves,” he added.
Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s April 28 election on a promise to fight Trump’s tariff policies and forge a new bilateral economic and security relationship with the United States.
Canada is the United States’ second largest single trading partner after Mexico. It is also the largest export market for US goods. Last year, more than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries.
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Sources
Carney tells Trump that Canada ‘won’t be for sale, ever’ – BBC
Mark Carney tells Donald Trump Canada is ‘not for sale’ – FT
Canadian PM Mark Carney tells Trump: ‘Canada is not for sale’ – Sky News