1) (Update) Carney says he pushed back against Trump in private on ’51st state’ notion

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, May 6, 2025.

While most of Carney’s attention remained focused on pressing Canada’s case against Trump’s tariffs and launching serious trade discussions, the president’s obsession with turning Canada into an American state was still a focal point.

The president assured reporters he was still keen on annexing Canada and Carney acknowledged that Trump brought it up again during private discussions.

The prime minister said he pressed Trump to drop the idea and repeatedly told him it will never happen.

“I would go back to showing the difference between a wish and a reality,” Carney told reporters on the balcony of Canada’s embassy in Washington following the meeting.

“I’ve been clear throughout, on behalf of Canadians, that this is never going to happen. Canada is not for sale and never will be for sale,” he said, echoing remarks he made earlier while sitting next to Trump in the Oval Office when the TV cameras were rolling.

Carney said he feels better about America’s trade “posture” but did not offer details of what was discussed and said it is only the beginning of talks.

“The breadth of the discussions and how concrete the discussions were — these are the discussions you have when you’re looking to find solutions, rather than laying down terms,” Carney told reporters.

The prime minister is expected to brief Canada’s premiers on Wednesday about his first in-person meeting with Trump. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday Carney appeared to have “held his own” with Trump, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she hopes this is a chance to reset relations with the U.S.

Carney had said the meetings would launch talks on a larger economic and security agreement between Canada and the United States. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration.

Trump went ahead with economywide tariffs against Canada in March, only to partially walk back the duties a few days later on imports compliant with CUSMA rules. Canada was also hit by steel, aluminum and automobile tariffs.

Trump’s actions hint his team still values the North American trade deal. The president left Canada and Mexico out of his global tariff agenda and provided further CUSMA carveouts for the automobile industry.

Trump on Tuesday said CUSMA was very effective, adding “it’s still very effective.” The president, however, described it as a “transitional deal” and said he didn’t know “if it’s necessary anymore.”

Carney said Canada is also looking to change some aspects of the continental trade pact. The prime minister pointed to the national security exemptions in trade law that allowed Trump to slam Canada with tariffs — linked to baseless claims about fentanyl trafficking over the Canadian border into the U.S.

The public portion of the high-stakes meeting was largely cordial, if tense. Trump leaned in at one point and — citing the combative Oval Office meeting in February with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — said the meeting with Carney would remain “very friendly.”

Carney matched Trump’s body language and even mirrored the president’s fist pump to the cameras when he greeted the prime minister at the White House entrance.

At the meeting’s outset , Carney called Trump a “transformational” president focused on the economy and tackling illegal opioids. Carney said he hoped to adopt a “similar focus” on the economy and border security and place a “much greater focus on defence and security.”

Trump said Canada chose a “very talented person” in its recent election and described the Liberal win as one of the greatest political comebacks of all time, since the party was on track to lose badly back in January. Trump even agreed that Canada is “stepping it up” on its military spending.

The tone of the meeting was a stunning change from the way Trump addressed former prime minister Justin Trudeau a few months ago. The president repeatedly needled Trudeau by calling him the “governor.”

Trump made a few disparaging references to Trudeau and the last Liberal government on Tuesday. Trump said “I won’t say this about Mark, but I didn’t like his predecessor.”

Trump said he “had a lot of fun” calling Trudeau “governor” but Carney’s election was “a good step up” for Canada.

When reporters questioned Trump in the Oval Office about his past comments about annexing Canada, he initially downplayed the suggestion, saying “it takes two to tango.” But Trump added it would be a “wonderful marriage if it could happen.”

Carney put it in black-and-white terms to the president, pointing to the White House and saying, “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.”

Trump still wouldn’t close the door on annexation entirely, adding he would “never say never” — prompting Carney to look around the room and say “never” multiple times.

“Respectfully, Canadians’ view on this is not going to change,” Carney said.

Trump said that regardless of what happens, the United States is always going to be friends with Canada. He also said there was nothing Carney could say to him Tuesday that would convince him to immediately drop tariffs on Canada.

Carney later said that was to be expected and that this dispute would not be resolved within a day.

— Written by Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington, D.C., and Kyle Duggan in Ottawa

2) Experts see hopeful signs as Mark Carney prepares to talk trade with Trump

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, May 5, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be watched closely by Canadians infuriated by Donald Trump — and by an anxious business community looking for tariff relief — when he meets with the U.S. president Tuesday in Washington.

After months of Trump’s annexation threats, the newly elected prime minister will be tasked with a delicate balancing act — showing strength while maintaining Canada’s place in a critical North American trade pact the president’s tariffs have sought to upend.

“My government will fight to get the best deal for Canada,” Carney said Friday in his first news conference since the election.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration. Trump at the time called it the best deal ever and Canadian officials declared it a victory for Canada.

CUSMA is up for review next year — but after Trump’s return to the White House, it quickly became clear the president intended to rattle the continental trade pact.

Canada and Mexico were hit early with tariffs the president linked to the flow of fentanyl and people across the borders. U.S. government data shows a tiny volume of fentanyl is intercepted at the U.S.-Canada border. Both countries were also hit by Trump’s steel, aluminum and automobile duties.

Trump’s provocations included calling then-prime minister Justin Trudeau a “governor” and saying the country would be better off as a U.S. state.

While the duties alarmed America’s closest neighbours, signs have emerged that the president still values CUSMA — a key achievement of his first administration.

When Trump took his trade war to the world with “reciprocal” tariffs in early April, Canada and Mexico weren’t included. Trump paused the largest of those duties for 90 days, saying it would allow time to negotiate deals, but kept in place a 10 per cent universal tariff on most imports to the U.S.

“If you read the tea leaves, Canada and Mexico seem to have been set aside … Hopefully that means that the administration is going to be looking at (CUSMA) as a package,” said Laura Dawson, an expert on Canada-U. S. relations and the executive director of the Future Borders Coalition.

Tuesday’s meeting could provide insights into Trump’s plan for what was once one of the most stable and friendly bilateral relationships in the world. Trump last week described Carney as “a very nice gentleman” and said he expects to have a “great relationship” with Canada.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hinted the Trump administration wants to maintain partnerships with its close neighbours. Greer told Fox News last week that “the president very much wants to have a healthy relationship in North America.”

“We should have more manufacturing in North America — we need to have it in our hemisphere,” Greer said.

But it’s still not clear what Trump’s team wants from Canada.

Speaking about negotiations with other countries, Greer described a “good deal” as one which sees countries drop tariff levels and remove non-tariff barriers on things like U.S. agricultural products. He said a good deal would address American concerns about digital trade and intellectual property, align export controls for economic security and offer the U.S. commercial opportunities, including investments in critical minerals.

CUSMA provided tariff-free trade for nearly all goods between Canada and the United States. The U.S. Department of Defense and Ottawa are already co-investing in Canadian critical mineral projects. Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, in part to appease U.S. concerns.

Steve Verheul, Canada’s former top trade negotiator, recently told the Public Policy Forum’s Canada Growth Summit that the current atmosphere is similar to the tensions during the first Trump administration after the president tore up the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was replaced by CUSMA.

Verheul said the United States put forward “very extreme, completely unacceptable” proposals but Canada eventually navigated the situation by being creative and bringing forward solutions.

Although Canada is once again seeing extreme proposals, Verheul said he sees signs of Trump backing down. The president repeatedly postponed tariffs on Canada. While he went forward with the duties in March, he partially walked them back for imports compliant with CUSMA rules only a few days later.

Trump also reduced the impact of tariffs on the North American automobile sector.

Verheul said Canada is in for “a difficult negotiation” but he thinks there will ultimately be duty-free trade.

Canada must show a unified front in its talks with the administration, Dawson said. Trump has already taken notice of the Liberal minority win and said the “tight race” will make it “very complicated for the country.”

Dawson said Carney should form a multi-party front on trade. During the first Trump administration, Ottawa’s cross-party NAFTA advisory panel included Rona Ambrose, the former interim Conservative leader.

“There’s got to be strong Conservative representation, strong regional representation, strong sectoral representation,” Dawson said.

Carney will have to be strategic, she said. Canadian businesses want room for economic growth in Canada and the U.S., but the prime minister cannot suggest that all is forgiven, Dawson added.

“There still is a lot of animosity in Canada,” she said. “It’s going to be difficult to manage a short-term crisis … with the United States as well as a long-term competitiveness challenge for Canada’s domestic economy.”

Other politicians in Canada will also be watching what happens at Tuesday’s meeting, including the leaders of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, who met for the Northern Premiers’ Forum on Sunday.

When asked what they hoped to see from the Trump-Carney meeting, P.J. Akeeagok, R.J. Simpson and Ranj Pillai noted it was encouraging that projects like an Arctic security corridor in the North are now front-and-centre on the national agenda.

“We’re very excited to hear some of these big projects on the radar, but we look forward to actually seeing the results and investments actually come. But we’ve heard (Carney) say he wants to be bold and act very quickly and that’s something we very much support here in Nunavut,” Akeeagok, Nunavut’s premier, told reporters after the forum.

3) (Updated)Trump says ‘highly unlikely’ U.S. ever uses military force to annex Canada

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Nick Murray, May 4, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump says it is “highly unlikely” the United States would ever use military force to annex Canada, though he maintains he will continue to push to make Canada the 51st state.

In a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” which aired Sunday, Trump said he wouldn’t rule out military force against Greenland, but he didn’t see it happening with Canada.

“I think we’re not going to ever get to that point,” Trump said.

“Something could happen with Greenland. I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security.” 

“But I think it’s highly unlikely … I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you.”

Trump’s remarks come as Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to have his first face-to-face meeting with the president this week in Washington, in which the countries’ trade war will be the top topic of conversation.

On Sunday, Trump called Carney “a very nice man” and that he congratulated the prime minister on his election victory during their call last week.

“There’s no majority or anything, so that’s going to make things a little bit difficult, I think, for him to run,” Trump. 

“But he nevertheless had a victory and he’s a very nice man, I think.”

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration. At the time Trump called it the best deal ever, and Canadian officials declared it a victory for Canada.

CUSMA is up for review next year, but after Trump’s return to the White House it quickly became clear the president intended to rattle the continental trade pact.

Canada and Mexico were hit early with tariffs the president linked to the flow of fentanyl and people across the borders. U.S. government data shows a tiny volume of fentanyl is intercepted at the U.S.-Canada border. Both countries were also hit by Trump’s steel, aluminum and automobile duties.

Speaking with reporters in Ottawa on Friday, Carney said he would be working to get the best deal for Canada.

Asked by “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker whether Trump will talk to Carney about becoming the 51st state, Trump replied he’ll “always talk about that.”

“You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year,” Trump said. 

In fact, the United States’ trade deficit with Canada was $63.3 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. A trade deficit is also not a subsidy.

The U.S. imported $412.7 billion of Canadian goods in 2024, most of which being energy and minerals.

“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy, we don’t need anything. We do very little business with Canada. They do all of their business practically with us,” Trump said.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. imported more goods from Mexico and China than it did from Canada in 2024. 

Canada represented 12.6 per cent of all U.S. imports. By contrast, Canada exported 75.9 per cent of its goods to the U.S.

“We don’t need their cars. In fact, we don’t want their cars. We don’t need their energy. We don’t even want their energy. We have more than they do,” Trump said.

“We don’t want their lumber. We have great lumber. All they have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. We don’t need anything that they have.”

— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington