By David Ljunggren and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House on Tuesday for his first talks with Donald Trump and bluntly told the U.S. president that Canada would never be for sale.
Carney, who won the April 28 election on a promise to push back against U.S. tariffs and talk of annexation, later said he had also asked Trump to stop referring in public to Canada as the 51st state.
Overall, Carney termed the meeting as constructive, and said the two sides would start serious talks on a new relationship he insists is needed in the wake of the tariffs.
Trump told reporters the meeting was “great” and noted that he and Carney get along.
“I think the relationship is going to be very strong.”
Although Carney has repeatedly called Trump’s actions a betrayal, the two leaders showed little animosity during an opening session at the Oval Office where both men praised each other in front of reporters before meeting privately.
Trump said the two sides would not be discussing Canada becoming part of the United States, but said it would be “a wonderful marriage.”
Carney put down the annexation idea firmly.
“It’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale – ever,” he said.
“Never say never, never say never,” Trump said.
Trump, whose tariff policy has rattled world markets, had said he and Carney would discuss “tough points,” an allusion to the president’s belief that the United States can do without Canadian products, a point that he made at length during the Oval Office conversation.
The meeting never appeared at risk of degenerating into the acrimonious exchanges that marked the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February. That encounter has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump.
“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada. Canada is a very special place to me,” Trump said before the private meeting with Carney, adding that the United States would always protect Canada.
The Canadian dollar rose to a near seven-month high against its U.S. counterpart as investors assessed Carney’s visit.
PROGRESS MADE: CARNEY
Carney’s Liberal Party promised voters it would create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with Washington and diversify an economy heavily dependent on exports to the U.S.
“We made progress. We had very comprehensive tangible exchanges and there will be meetings between ministers and officials,” Carney later told a press conference, saying he would meet Trump at a G7 summit in Canada in mid-June.
Given the potential for missteps and unpredictable reactions from Trump, the sense of relief among Canadian officials was clear. One senior member of the delegation told Reuters the meeting was “a 10 out of 10.”
Ahead of the visit, Carney played down expectations of a breakthrough in the talks. Indeed, when Trump was asked if Carney could say anything to persuade him to lift tariffs, he replied, “No.”
A senior Canadian government official said Carney told Trump over lunch the tariffs did not make sense.
Carney told reporters he had asked Trump to stop referring to Canada as the 51st state on the grounds it was “not useful.”
“But the president will say what he wants,” he said.
Carney’s comments about a new economic relationship had cast into doubt the future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed during his first White House term but has distanced himself from. It is due to be reviewed in 2026.
Carney steered clear of suggesting a major revamp, saying only that some things about the pact needed to be changed, while Trump described the agreement as “fine” and “great for all countries.”
In a Truth Social post just before the leaders met, Trump reiterated complaints about the trading relationship.
“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their energy, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need anything they have, other than their friendship,” Trump wrote.
During the meeting, Trump repeated concerns about what he called the huge U.S. deficit with Canada. Canada’s merchandise trade surplus was C$102.3 billion ($74.25 billion) in 2024, due mostly to American imports of Canadian oil.
Canada is the U.S.’ second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for U.S. goods. More than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries last year.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday said Canada’s goods trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. Canadian exports to the U.S. plunged by $3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record.
Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and then slapped another 25% tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with the USMCA.
(With additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa; Editing by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel)
