OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
It will be the first face-to-face meeting for the two since Carney was first sworn in as prime minister on March 14, and will come before Carney has named his new cabinet following Monday's federal election.
The two are set to discuss Trump's trade war on Canada, and the talks could set the stage for negotiation of a new trade and security pact with the United States.
In his first press conference since securing a minority government in his first federal election, Carney was asked by reporters how he'll approach Parliament and talks with the Trump administration.
Asked whether he would insist on U.S. tariffs being lifted as a condition of negotiations with the Trump administration, Carney said he doesn't want to negotiate in public.
When one reporter asked him if he's worried about being "ambushed" by Trump administration officials in the meeting — as happened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year — Carney said he'll head into the meeting "well-prepared."
"I go there with the expectation of … difficult but constructive discussions. That's the spirit of the conversations that the president and I had," Carney said. "You know, you go to these meetings well-prepared, understanding the objectives of your counterpart and always acting in the best interests of Canada, and we'll go from there."
The White House has cited the cross-border flow of deadly fentanyl to justify its tariffs on Canada, even though only small amounts of the drug have been seized at the northern border.
"There will be difficult discussions," Carney said in French. "The fentanyl-related tariffs, we don't understand why they're still in place."
Trump also has pointed to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada as a rationale for tariffs.
Trump has repeatedly made the false claim that the U.S. "subsidizes" Canada to the tune of $200 billion annually. The U.S. government's trade office said the trade deficit with Canada was US$63.3 billion in 2024, a 1.4 per cent decrease since 2023. A trade deficit is also not a subsidy.
Carney campaigned on being the best candidate to deal with Trump's aggressive push to bolster American manufacturing through massive levies on imports, as well as the president's threatening statements about making Canada a U.S. state.
Trump toned down his aggressive rhetoric during the election campaign itself and recently referred to Carney as a "very nice gentleman."
But in the final days of the campaign, Trump again started talking about making Canada a "cherished" U.S. state.
Carney said Trump did not talk about annexing Canada in their call on Tuesday.
The prime minister said that as trade and security discussions resume with the Trump administration, it's important to separate "wants from reality."
"The Canadian people clearly have stated, virtually without exception, is this will never ever happen," Carney said, referring to Trump's annexation comments.
"We're meeting as heads of our government to discuss (the Canada-U.S.) partnership. Now, I'm not pretending those discussions will be easy. They won't proceed in a straight line. There will be zigs and zags, ups and downs, but as I said in my remarks, I will fight for the best deal for Canada and only accept the best for Canada and take as much time as necessary."
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau spent his last days in office being frequently needled by Trump as the president floated annexation and levied tariffs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
