Washington, May 6 — In their first face-to-face meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met at the White House on Tuesday in a bid to ease trade tensions and reset a relationship strained by months of tariff disputes.
The talks opened with smiles and handshakes as cameras clicked away, but soon veered into testier territory as the two leaders fielded questions about Trump’s past comments suggesting Canada could become the 51st U.S. state.
“We’re not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it,” Trump said, before adding with a grin, “It would really be a wonderful marriage.”
Carney responded sharply. “It’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale—ever,” he said from the Oval Office, drawing a quick comeback from Trump: “Never say never, never say never.”
The meeting followed Carney’s April 28 election victory, in which his Liberal Party campaigned on promises to challenge Trump’s aggressive trade posture and forge a new bilateral framework grounded in “economic fairness and mutual respect.”
Trump, whose tariff policies have rattled global markets and strained North American relations, appeared to acknowledge those frictions but maintained a tone of guarded optimism.
“We’re going to be friends with Canada—regardless of anything,” Trump said, while noting that he and Carney would address “tough points” during the discussions.
The atmosphere was further charged by a message Trump posted on social media just before Carney’s arrival.
“I very much want to work with him,” Trump wrote.
“But cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 billion a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? 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.”
The president appeared to be referencing the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, largely driven by American imports of Canadian oil. However, data from 2024 show Canada posted a merchandise trade surplus of C$102.3 billion (roughly $74.25 billion), complicating the picture.
Despite the friction, both leaders signaled interest in moving past rhetoric and exploring areas of alignment, particularly in security cooperation and cross-border economic integration.
Carney, while firm on sovereignty, has expressed willingness to modernize trade terms. His aides say the prime minister views the U.S.-Canada partnership as “vital but overdue for rebalancing.”
The meeting ended without a formal statement or joint press conference, but officials from both sides said follow-up discussions were planned in the coming weeks.
As Trump left the Oval Office, he offered a parting remark to reporters: “We’ll see what happens. Canada’s got a great leader. We’ll find something that works—for both of us.”
