Carney speaks to reporters after meeting Trump
Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking questions from reporters in Washington on Tuesday after his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.
The Latest
Prime Minister Mark Carney says discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump were “wide-ranging” and “constructive.”Carney is speaking from the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.Carney confirmed that he and Trump will meet again in person at the G7 summit next month.The prime minister says he will meet with Canada’s premiers over the phone tomorrow.Carney and Trump agreed to disagree on the idea of Canada as the 51st state in their Oval Office meeting. Carney and Trump addressed trade, Canadian sovereignty and the two countries’ defence relationship.Trump said there wasn’t anything Carney could say to convince him to lift tariffs, while Carney called CUSMA “the basis for a broader negotiation.”Updates
May 6
3 minutes ago
Carney asked about Alberta referendum talk
Catharine Tunney
Carney was asked about increasing talk of Alberta succession. Premier Danielle Smith has said she would hold a referendum on provincial separation in 2026 if citizens gather the required signatures on a petition.
Asked about that, Carney would only say, “Canada is stronger when we work together.”
“As an Albertan, I firmly believe you can always ask, but I know how I would respond,” he said.
3 minutes ago
Carney says he asked Trump to stop 51st state taunts
Jenna Benchetrit
One reporter pressed the prime minister on whether he asked Trump to stop calling Canada the 51st state. Carney said he did today during their meeting, but was resistant at first in defining how he asked or what Trump’s answer was.
He elaborated more in his French response, saying he told Trump that it’s “not useful” to repeat the 51st state idea. But Carney added that Trump is the president and that he’ll say what he wants to say.
6 minutes ago
How does Carney feel about Canada-U.S. relations now?
Jenna Benchetrit
Carney says he feels ‘better’ about Canada-U.S. relations after his meeting with Trump. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)“I feel better about the relations in many respects,” said Carney, including in terms of the “posture” that Trump took toward Canada, as well as the breadth of their discussion.
“These are the discussions you have when you’re looking to find solutions,” he said.
12 minutes ago
On tariffs lifting, Carney says, ‘We’ll see’
Catharine Tunney
Trump made it clear that for him, the tariffs, especially those on the auto sector, will stay in place.
Carney would only say, “We’ll see.”
He repeated what he said last week that he didn’t expect to see “white smoke” after this first meeting, when it comes to the trade war.
He called the meetings productive.
14 minutes ago
‘I’m glad that you couldn’t tell what was going through my mind’
Jenna Benchetrit
Asked what he was thinking when Trump referred to an “artificial border” between Canada and the U.S., Carney quipped, “I’m glad that you couldn’t tell what was going through my mind.”
When it comes to Canada’s sovereignty, the prime minister said he’s careful to distinguish between Trump’s wish and the reality that “Canada is not for sale and never will be.”
He also touched on Trump’s implication that Trump disliked former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland (who is still in the Carney cabinet as transportation minister), saying that he looks forward, not back.
“I think we established a good basis today,” in terms of moving forward on the economic and security relationship, said Carney.
20 minutes ago
Carney says today’s meeting is ‘end of the beginning’
Catharine Tunney
Carney says his discussions with Trump were ‘constructive.’ (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)Before taking reporters’ questions, Carney opened his news conference with a few remarks and thanked Trump for hosting him in Washington.
Carney said he stressed to Trump the two countries work best together.
“Really, today marked the end of the beginning of a process of the United States and Canada redefining that relationship. The question is how we will co-operate in the future,” he said.
22 minutes ago
More face time planned
Jenna Benchetrit
The prime minister said that he and the president had a wide-ranging and constructive conversation, and agreed to have “further conversations” in the coming weeks.
Carney also confirmed that he and Trump will meet again in person at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
27 minutes ago
Carney is speaking at the embassy
Verity Stevenson
Carney is addressing the media at the Canadian Embassy, just down the road from the White House, in Washington, D.C.
He is expected to share some information about discussions he and other Canadian officials had with Trump in private after the two leaders’ Oval Office appearance.
32 minutes ago
Carney ‘has his work cut out for him,’ Alberta premier says
David Cummings
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s hopeful about trade talks. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a press conference this afternoon that she hopes Carney will use his closed-door meeting with Trump to agree on renegotiating CUSMA, which is set for a review on July 1, 2026.
“I’m really hopeful that behind closed doors, they’ll be able to have a meeting of the minds and come out with an agreement to restart the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement negotiations,” Smith said.
Smith promised Albertans yesterday that she would hold a referendum on provincial separation if a petition asking for it obtained enough signatures. Today, a reporter asked her if she thinks that message weakened Canada’s position heading into the meeting with Trump.
“I think that Prime Minister Carney has his work cut out for him, as we saw in the opening press conference with the president,” Smith responded.
57 minutes ago
‘We shouldn’t goad him’
Jenna Benchetrit
Flavio Volpe is the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. (Dan Taekema/CBC)The auto industry has serious concerns about the possibility of tariffs on finished cars, says Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
Right now, Trump’s auto tariffs only apply to non-CUSMA-compliant vehicle parts.
Volpe said Canadian workers and suppliers in auto plant towns are worried that the longer the tariff dispute goes on, the less likely those finished cars are to be sold.
“If he actually achieves shutting down production in Canada and Mexico, it doesn’t mean he’s going to get new production in the U.S.,” Volpe added, saying what it probably means is that Trump is “going to bankrupt” GM, Ford and the U.S. branch of Dutch automaker Stellantis.
“We know he’s not going across those lines. We shouldn’t goad him, but we should be as disciplined and as patient as we were [in negotiating] on the auto parts side of it.”
Volpe said he hopes Carney will announce further meetings with Trump: “I want to know that we’ve set a date for the next game.”
