Managing Trump: 1)Carney returns to Ottawa without a deal to end the U.S. tariffs; 2)Carney pitches Keystone XL restart in exchange for progress on aluminum, steel; 3)(Updated) As Trump digs in on tariff rhetoric, LeBlanc suggests quick deals in the works; 4)Trump says U.S. could renew CUSMA or make separate deal with Canada
1)Carney returns to Ottawa without a deal to end the U.S. tariffs
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Kelly Geraldine Malone, October 8, 2025
Mark Carney departed Washington Wednesday with no deal in hand to lift U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods — an outcome that drew both intense criticism during a heated question period and rare acclaim from Alberta’s premier.
U.S. President Trump lavished praise on Carney during a meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday and said the prime minister would leave the meetings “very happy.”
The president showed no signs of relenting on tariffs, however, and no deal was announced.
A readout from the Prime Minister’s Office released Wednesday said Carney and Trump “welcomed the progress achieved to date in building a new economic and security relationship between their nations.”
It said the leaders “identified opportunities for material progress in trade in steel, (aluminum) and energy, and directed their teams to conclude this work in the coming weeks.” It added Carney and Trump also discussed opportunities to co-operate on defence and shared efforts to bolster Arctic security.
Carney has faced increasing pressure to land a deal on tariff relief. He spent the spring election campaign pitching himself as the best person to deal with Trump’s trade war, leaning into the “elbow’s up” movement embraced by Canadians following Trump’s repeated threats of annexation.
“We haven’t seen those elbows since the election,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during Wednesday’s question period after Carney’s return to Ottawa.
Poilievre accused Carney of “bowing before the president in weakness” by telling Trump in the Oval Office that Canada could make US$1 trillion in investments over five years if the country gets a deal.
Carney’s approach to Trump received plaudits from an unlikely source: Premier Danielle Smith, who has long been critical of the Liberal government’s approach to Alberta.
Addressing the BMO U.S.-Canada summit in Toronto on Wednesday, Smith said “we should be cheering the prime minister on” as he builds relationships south of the border.
“That is how deals get made with this particular president,” Smith said. “And so I am beginning to see from the approach that Prime Minister Carney takes, it may not be ‘elbows up’ but I never thought ‘elbows up’ was going to get us a deal with this particular president.”
Christopher Sands, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Canadian Studies, said he was hoping the Trump administration would offer a clear signal that it was taking Ottawa’s efforts seriously.
To appease the American president, Carney has dropped many of Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs, paused Canada’s digital services tax, introduced border security legislation and moved to ramp up defence spending.
“A deal was acknowledged to be under discussion with Trump saying he wanted a deal. So, a good meeting,” Sands said in a text. “I am not sure the U.S. gesture was there — Trump would probably say the meeting was the gesture — but there is (room) for that to follow.”
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc stayed behind in Washington to press Canada’s case after Carney returned home. He told reporters at a news conference after Tuesday’s meeting that substantial progress was made in the White House talks this week.
LeBlanc said the two sides are working to “quickly land deals” on steel, aluminum and energy.
“The conversation between the two leaders left us very much with the sense that there’s a desire to see how we can, starting with the steel and aluminum sectors, structure something that would be in the economic and security interests of both countries,” he said.
The meeting showed that Trump respects Carney, said Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a cross-border consultancy focused on trade, supply chains and government affairs.
“That matters in Trump world,” Miller said. “He doesn’t want to deal with somebody who he doesn’t respect.”
Trump boosted tariffs on Canada to 35 per cent in August but those duties don’t apply to goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.
Canadian industries are also being slammed by Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles and copper. Additional levies are set to hit lumber later this month.
Trump’s comments in the Oval Office indicated an openness to movement on those sector-specific tariffs, Miller said. It shows the president has recognized Carney’s efforts, he added.
“That says to me that in essence the strategy … has worked substantially,” he said. “Because it means that we’re in a position where there’s some prospect of an agreement … and not in this space where the two sides are really talking past each other.”
The president said Tuesday Canada and the U.S. are “working on formulas and I think we’ll get there.”
Miller said it’s unlikely the Trump administration will drop the tariffs entirely and Trump’s comments indicate he’s looking at a tariff rate quota.
Miller said if Carney and his team are able to get some sort of tariff relief, it would help insulate him from claims that he’s fumbled the trade file.
It would also boost confidence in the prospects for reaching a broader agreement with the United States ahead of next year’s review of CUSMA, Miller added.
“I think what Mark Carney’s banking on, to be quite frank, is people aren’t going to care how the deal was done as long as you get a good deal in the end,” he said.
— With files from Lisa Johnson in Edmonton
2)Carney pitches Keystone XL restart in exchange for progress on aluminum, steel
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Nick Murray, October 8, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney raised the prospect of reviving the Keystone XL pipeline project with U.S. President Donald Trump as part of a larger pitch on linking energy co-operation and support for Canada’s steel and aluminum sectors.
A government source who was briefed on the discussions told The Canadian Press that Trump was “very receptive” to the idea during his Tuesday meeting with Carney in the White House, and the two leaders directed their teams to pursue discussions in the days ahead.
CBC News was first to report on Carney raising Keystone XL.
The source said Carney and Trump discussed co-operation across different sectors, and how agreements in one sector could affect progress in another.
Trump posted on social media in February that he wanted to revive the Keystone XL project, which would run Alberta crude oil down to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The project was shut down by the Obama administration before Trump revived it in his first presidency, only for it to be quashed again under President Joe Biden.
South Bow Corp., the oil pipeline operator spun off from TC Energy Corp. last year and now the owner of the existing Keystone system, said in February — following Trump’s social media post — the company had “moved on” from the XL expansion project.
A spokesperson for South Bow told The Canadian Press on Wednesday the company was not privy to ongoing discussions between Canada and the U.S. but it “is supportive of efforts to find solutions that increase the transportation of Canadian crude oil.”
“We will continue to explore opportunities that leverage our existing corridor with our customers and others in the industry,” Solomiya Lyaskovska wrote in a media statement.
News of Carney’s pitch was welcomed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has been on a tour of Quebec and Ontario this week pitching a new pipeline project to the West Coast.
“They’re talking about a steel, aluminum and energy construct for a deal to start easing some of the pain on the tariffs. So I think that that’s a positive,” Smith said at a conference in Toronto on Wednesday.
“What I told Prime Minister Carney when he came in is, stop threatening to sell the U.S. less energy, and let’s promise to sell them more. Because I think that’s the pathway to a solution.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2025.
— With files from Lauren Krugel in Calgary
3)(Updated) As Trump digs in on tariff rhetoric, LeBlanc suggests quick deals in the works
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Kelly Geraldine Malone, October 8, 2025
Trump says trade talks will make Carney ‘very happy’ but sticks to aggressive posture
A high-profile meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday resulted in Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc vowing both sides are focused on quickly reaching deals on steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump lavished praise on Carney publicly and promised the prime minister would walk away “very happy” from their working meetings, even as he sent aggressive signals on trade and joked about annexing Canada.
When reporters asked Trump why he thought the Canadian trade delegation would leave happy, the president refused to explain.
“Well, you’ll find out, but I think the people of Canada, they will love us again,” Trump said.
LeBlanc said the two sides are working to “quickly land deals” on steel, aluminum and energy and in private, talks at the White House were “more detailed” than previous discussions.
“The conversation between the two leaders left us very much with the sense that there’s a desire to see how we can, starting with the steel and aluminum sectors, structure something that would be in the economic and security interests of both countries,” LeBlanc said following the meetings.
LeBlanc spoke to reporters on the terrace of the Canadian Embassy, overlooking the U.S. Capitol Building, while a Canadian flag flapped in the wind behind him.
“These sectors are amongst the ones that have faced the most significant challenges from the 232 tariffs and in the conversation today, we talked about ways to quickly arrive at a deal … in these sectors of significant importance.”
The entire trip was politically sensitive for Carney, who centred his election campaign on winning the trade war with Trump — a president known to abruptly lash out at world leaders both in public and private.
Carney spoke little during the news conference and did not speak publicly at all afterward, save for a short post on X.
“President Trump and I know that there are areas where our nations can compete — and areas where we will be stronger together,” Carney posted. “We’re focused on building these new opportunities.”
Carney would not answer questioned shouted at him by reporters as he left the White House for other private meetings. His office would not confirm the details of most of those meetings, but did later confirm Carney met with Sen. Mike Crapo, the chair of the Senate finance committee.
A source with knowledge of the plan, but who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the prime minister was also scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by Vice-President JD Vance on Tuesday night.
During question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attacked the government for how long the negotiations are taking, pointing out Carney promised to quickly resolve the trade war yet there is “still no victory.”
Poilievre also took issue with Carney’s comments on investment, specifically when the prime minister said in front of Trump that Canada will probably invest about $1 trillion in the U.S. over the next five years “if we get the agreement that we expect to get.”
Poilievre charged that would likely mean “closing mines and factories in Canada” to move them south of the border.
“Why is it when the prime minister goes for lunch at the White House, it is Canadian workers on the menu?”
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon called the statement “absurd,” saying Carney was in the room to advance Canadian interests.
During the public portion of events, Carney sat next to Trump in the Oval Office during a rambling news conference where Trump mused about everything from his dislike of former U.S. President Joe Biden to his hatred of windmills — but only offered hints on trade.
Carney largely ceded his ground to the ever-unpredictable Trump, who appeared to be in good spirits as he joked around.
When Carney called Trump a “transformative” president and listed his accomplishments, including extracting unprecedented commitments from NATO members on defence spending, Trump interrupted to add “the merger of Canada and the United States” to the list.
“That wasn’t where I was going,” Carney replied with a smile.
The president showed no signs of relenting on tariffs. He said the U.S. wants to make its own steel and autos and warned that Canada and the U.S. have “natural” business conflicts.
“Americans don’t want to buy cars that are made in Canada,” Trump said. “It’s a tough situation because we want to make our cars here. At the same time, we want Canada to do well making cars. So, we’re working on formulas and I think we’ll get there.”
The president said the U.S. could renew the trilateral North American free trade agreement, while suggesting in the same breath the two countries could instead work out separate deals. Trump did not indicate a preference either way.
He also heaped praise on Carney, calling him a great leader and tough negotiator. When a reporter asked why the two countries have been unable to reach a trade deal to date, Trump replied, “Because I want to be a great man, too.”
Premiers wished Carney luck ahead of the meeting, but also expressed frustrations about the persistent U.S. tariffs.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier Tuesday if Carney can’t reach a deal to end the U.S. tariffs, Ottawa should start hitting back hard with retaliatory measures.
“You sure don’t sit back and get beat up by a bully every single day,” Ford told reporters in Toronto. “It’s time to hit back if he can’t get a deal.”
Ford said if Carney knows something he doesn’t about how talks are progressing, the prime minister should sit down with the premiers to explain.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters in Ottawa she thinks it’s a good idea for Carney to visit Washington “on a relationship-building expedition” since trade deals can advance simply due to a “good personal relationship between the leaders.”
But Smith said she wants to see “at a minimum” Carney try to find a “compromise around autos and steel and aluminum, and perhaps even softwood lumber.”
— With files from Kyle Duggan and Nick Murray
4)Trump says U.S. could renew CUSMA or make separate deal with Canada
Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press
By Kelly Geraldine Malone, October 7, 2025
President Donald Trump said today Canada and the U.S. could renew the trilateral North American free trade agreement — or just do separate deals instead.
During a brief press conference before a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the White House, Trump said Carney would leave Washington “happy” but would not say why.
After Trump praised Carney as a great leader and tough negotiator, he told a reporter that he hasn’t come to an agreement with Carney’s government yet “because I want to be a great man too.”
Carney largely ceded the press conference to Trump, who joked around and dug in on his aggressive approach to trade, saying the U.S. wants to make its own steel and cars instead of bringing in imports.
Carney again called Trump a “transformative” president, saying he has extracted unprecedented commitments from NATO members on defence spending.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said shortly before the meeting that if Carney can’t reach a deal to end the U.S. sectoral tariffs, Ottawa should start hitting back hard with retaliatory measures.