Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made his first visit with great hopes for the White House as his country and the US continue to refrain from prospects of rethinking trade, tariffs and shared borders.
Sitting across from Kearney in his oval office on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump continued to advocate for Canada to become part of its southern neighbours.
However, Carney reiterated his firm commitment to protecting Canada’s sovereignty, but he spoke briefly during a 30-minute appearance with Trump in his oval office.
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that aren’t for sale,” Carney told Trump in a gesture to the president’s background as a real estate developer.
He then referenced Canada’s missions from recent federal elections. This reflects the growing anti-Trump sentiment among Canadian voters.
“I have never met Canadian owners in the course of the campaign over the past few months, and they have not been for sale – not for sale – never before,” Carney said of his country.
But overall, the meeting was heartfelt, with the two leaders exchanging warm words and teasing a breakthrough with Yemeni armed group Houthis.
Here are five important points from their meeting.
Trump is focused on Canadian elections
Kearney’s appearance at the White House came just a week after his country’s federal election on April 28th, and Trump emerged as a critical force.
Research firm Ipsos found that affordability and cost of living were in line with the list of concerns among Canadian voters, but 24% of respondents identified Canada’s increasingly intense relationship with the US as a major issue.
Another Ipsos poll found that more voters trust Carney to handle Trump more than other candidates.
The Liberal Party, on the centre left, ultimately won 169 seats out of 343. It is enough to form a minority government, and enough to keep Canadian prime minister, Carney, the liberal leader.
But that was a tough turnaround from the liberal slack polls at the beginning of the year. Experts believe Trump’s second term, which began on January 20th, helped drive the Liberal Party’s comeback.
His statement that Canada will become a US state and his aggressive tariff policy alienated many Canadians who felt their close ties with the US had deteriorated.
And some voters feared that the Canadian Conservative Party — previously at the forefront of elections — might rain down on Trump’s demands.
When Trump opened a sit-in with Carney on Tuesday, he nodded to the Liberal Party’s future victory and joked that he had gained partial credibility for the party’s successful election.
“I think it was probably the biggest thing that happened to him,” Trump said of Carney.
“But I don’t get full credibility. His party was losing a lot, and he won. So I really want to congratulate him. It was probably one of the biggest comebacks in political history.
Trump and Carney exchange praise
Trump showered Kearney, calling him “very good” and “very talented” and he called him “a lot in common.”
In contrast, the US president launched Barb with fellow liberal Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor who served as Canadian prime minister from 2015 until March this year.
“I didn’t like his predecessor,” Trump said quickly. He also hinted at other tense relationships with other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky.
“This is very friendly. It’s not like having another little explosion with someone else. It was quite different. It’s a very friendly conversation,” Trump said.
Carney responded with his own compliments for Trump.
“You’re a transformative president,” Carney said first, celebrating the US president’s “a non-obsessive focus on American workers.” He also portrayed similarities between Trump’s leadership and himself, saying he was elected to “set a similar focus on the economy to transform Canada” and “securing borders.”
“The history of Canada and the US has many opportunities for us to work together, and we have stronger and stronger,” Carney said. “We look forward to dealing with some of the issues we have, but we also look forward to finding areas of mutual cooperation so that we can move forward.”
Kearney: Canada “not for sale”
But the conversation between the two leaders quickly shifted to one of the most controversial issues facing their country’s relationship, a Trump threat to make Canada a part of the United States.
Since December, Trump has made regular statements that Canada should be absorbed by the US as the 51st state due to trade imbalances.
According to the US government, Canada is the largest destination for US exports and one of the top three sources of imports. However, Canada exports more to the US than imports, and has generated a deficit of $63.3 billion, courtesy of Canada.
Experts say the trade deficit is not necessarily a bad thing. They say that consumer bases can be stronger or different currency values. However, Trump has repeatedly framed the US trade deficit with Canada as a “subsidy” that will lift the country’s economy.
At the forefront of Tuesday’s meeting, the US president pledged to broach state issues with Kearney. “I always talk about it,” he told the television news program Meet the Press on Saturday.
However, during the public part of their meeting, Trump took a more calm approach, saying that although he believed the nation was a boon for Canada, he would not force the matter.
“I still believe it, but it takes two tango, right?” Trump told reporters. He later said, “I feel it’s much better for Canada, but I’m not going to discuss it unless someone wants to argue about it.”
Nevertheless, he revisited the familiar debate for combining the two countries, including that Canada could avoid the sudden 25% tariffs that the US imposed on many exports, including steel and aluminum.
“I believe it will be a massive tax cut for Canadian citizens. You will have a free military, you will have a tremendous medical care and other things. There are many benefits, but that will be a massive tax cut,” he said.
When Carney replied that Canada was “not for sale,” Trump doubled and said, “Never say it.”
However, Carney crumpled his face with a cheeky look, and repeatedly put the word “never” into his mouth to a journalist circled around him.
He also sought to praise the debate for a more neutral position and for pushing Western countries to invest more in military defense.
Still, reporters continued to push the two leaders over controversial remarks. Trump asked if he would accept the will of the Canadians so they wouldn’t become the 51st state.
“That’s true,” Trump replied. “But this isn’t necessarily a one-day transaction. This is beyond the time that you have to make that decision.”
Kearney cried out again in a short but dull reaction. “To my respect, Canadians’ views on this will not change.”
Later outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., Kearney described the oval office meeting as a turning point for bilateral relations.
“Today marks the end of the US-Canada process and redefines the relationship that it works together,” Carney said. “The question is how we will cooperate in the future.”
Trump is sticking to US tariffs
In the oval office, Trump is unwavering with his commitment to impose tariffs on Canada, describing import taxes as essential to protecting US industry from competition.
“In the course of my encounter with him today, is there any chance he can lift tariffs in Canada?” asked a reporter from the oval office.
Trump responded with distinctive brevity: “No.”
He later explained that it was his hope to create a US industry that does not rely on external support, not from nearby allies like Canada.
Trump referenced the decline of the American automotive and steel industry as his tariff motive.
“We want to build our own cars. We don’t really want cars from Canada, we put tariffs on Canadian cars. At one point, it doesn’t make any economic sense for Canada to build those cars,” Trump said. “And we don’t want steel from Canada because we make our own steel.
He also repeated the false claim that the US trade deficit with Canada amounted to “subsidies.” He appeared to be questioning whether Canada’s economy would survive without US support.
“They have a surplus with us, so there’s no reason for us to subsidize Canada,” Trump said. “Canada has to be able to take care of itself financially. I think they can.”
Meanwhile, Carney highlighted the close ties that the US and Canada have enjoyed in the past, claiming that cross-border trade has made both economies stronger.
“We are the largest client in the United States as a whole for all our products. So we are the largest client in the United States,” he said. “50% of cars coming from Canada are Americans. That’s not the case anywhere else in the world.”
Both leaders agreed that the current US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) should be renegotiated. Canada framed Trump’s tariffs as a violation of a free trade agreement signed in 2019 under the US president’s first term.
“The USMCA is perfect for all countries,” Trump said at an oval office meeting Tuesday. However, he added that the deal is a “transitional step” that will be “renegotiated very soon.”
Kearney reflected that rating by saying the USMCA would become a launchpad for a wider discussion.
“It’s the basis of broader negotiations. Some things about it will have to change,” he said. “Some of the ways in which these duties were implemented will take advantage of existing aspects of the USMCA and will need to be changed.”
Trump promotes breakthrough with Houthis
Much of the debate in the oval office revolved around trade, but Trump temporarily turned to the topic of international conflict, saying that the war in Ukraine would be heavily characterized by its closed-type debate with Carney.
He also announced that his administration will end its nearly two months of bombing campaign in Yemen.
The US Central Command says more than 800 targets have been bombed since Trump launched the latest US strike known as Operation Roughrider on March 15.
But the effort is controversial. Aid groups have warned of civilian casualties, including alleged bombing of immigration centres in Sadah in northern Yemen. And details of the first strike were accidentally leaked to journalists at a messaging app signal, spurring questions about mismanagement within the Trump White House.
However, on Tuesday, Trump announced changes in his ongoing battle with the Hoosis.
“Last night there was very good news,” Trump said. “They announced to us at least that they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight. And we respect that. And we’ll stop the bombing.”
Houthis had launched attacks on commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea as part of the group’s opposition to the Israeli war in Gaza, which killed more than 52,615 Palestinians.
“They say they won’t blow up the ship anymore, that’s what we’re doing,” Trump added. “We’re going to stop the bombing of the Houthis soon.”
Shortly afterwards, a senior Houthi official posted on social media that the transaction must be “first evaluated on ground.”
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