Politics
After holding their first official call on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to sit down and negotiate a “new” relationship between the two countries should Carney win next month’s federal election.
Trump says first call with Carney was ‘productive,’ leaders ‘agree on many things’
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump took place Friday morning. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/AP – Pool)After holding their first official call on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to sit down and negotiate a “new” relationship between the two countries should Carney win next month’s federal election.
“The prime minister and the president had a very constructive conversation about the relationship between our two countries,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a readout released after the call.
“The leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election,” the statement said.
“The prime minister told the president that he would be working hard for the next month to earn the right to represent Canada in those discussions.”
The PMO also said Carney told Trump that Canada will respond with a suite of retaliatory tariffs targeting the U.S. after it imposes scheduled tariffs on Canada next month.
Earlier in the day, Trump described his first conversation with Carney since he became prime minister as “very productive.”
“I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social in which he said the two leaders “agree on many things.”
“It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming election to work on elements of politics, business and other factors that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” Trump wrote.
In the meantime, Trump and Carney agreed that conversations between International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick “will intensify to address immediate concerns,” the PMO said.
Trump calls Carney ‘Prime Minister’ not ‘governor’The U.S. president’s announcement that the two leaders will meet after Canada goes to the polls suggests Trump has decided that Carney will still be prime minister after April 28, despite voting day remaining a month away.
Speaking in the Oval office later in the day, Trump called Carney by his first name and described their conversation in glowing terms.
“We had a very good conversation,” Trump said. “Mark called me today at 10 a.m. … we had a very, very good talk. He’s going through an election now and we’ll see what happens.”
Carney has previously said he’s open to a conversation if the president, who has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st state, respects Canada’s sovereignty.
Watch | Trump says he had ‘very good conversation’ with Carney, offers no details on call:
Trump says he had ‘very good conversation’ with Carney, offers no details on call
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a good phone call with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday. Trump spoke generally about his planned April 2 tariffs, and offered no real details of what was discussed on the first call between the leaders, though he did note: ‘I think things are going to work out very well between Canada and the United States.’
The call comes after Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that will bring in a new 25 per cent tariff on finished vehicles imported into the United States beginning next week.
Trump said Friday that he still intends to levy tariffs on his trading partners April 2, but hinted Canada may not be hit as hard as other countries.
“I’m not referring to Canada, but many countries have taken advantage of us … that has to stop,” Trump said. “We are going to end up with a very good relationship with Canada and some of the other countries.
“We had a very good talk, the prime minister and myself, and I think things are going to work out very well between Canada and the United States,” he said.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet responded to news of the call in a social media post, saying he’s glad the conversation was productive but he wants more details on what was discussed.
“I would like to know what was said about supply management, softwood lumber, culture and aluminum — key sectors of Quebec’s economy,” he said in French.
“What about the tariff threats of April 2? Will they be postponed until May or later?” he added.
The PMO said Carney chaired a virtual meeting with Canada’s premiers that began at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Watch | Poilievre says Trump wants Carney’s Liberals to win:
Poilievre says Trump wants Carney’s Liberals to win
Responding to a question following the call between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it was ‘clear’ Trump wants to keep the Liberals in power because ‘they have been very good for his agenda.’
With files from Catharine Tunney
