The two leaders had agreed in March to begin negotiations on trade and other issues after Canada’s general election last week.
At his first meeting with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country will continue friendly relations with Canada, but added that he would still like to see the country join the United States.
“I still believe that, but it takes two to tango,” he said, sitting alongside Carney in the Oval Office on May 6.
The two leaders held the public meeting before engaging behind closed doors for further talks around trade, with the free trade system between the two countries being upended by Trump in recent months.
“Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada. Canada is a very special place,” Trump said.
Carney responded to Trump’s comment about Canada joining the United States, saying, “as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.” He said the “opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together,” and that Ottawa is committed to increasing investments in defence and playing a larger part in NATO.
“Never say never,” Trump said, referring to Carney’s remark that Canada would never be for sale.
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Trump said Canadians would see advantages from joining the United States, citing lower taxes and a free military, saying “which, honestly we give you, essentially, anyway.” He added that the two leaders would not discuss the idea of the 51st state during their meeting, “unless somebody wants to discuss it.”
When asked by a reporter if Carney’s comments about Canada not being for sale would make discussions more difficult, Trump said, “No, not at all. Time will tell, it’s only time.”
“I say, never say never. I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable and only doable in a very friendly way. But if it’s to everybody’s benefit,” he said.
Though the two leaders ventured into the thorny topic in front of the cameras, the matter remained civil and did not escalate. Trump said there would not be “another little blow up,” alluding to his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
Trump and Carney both praised each other at the start of the meeting. Trump congratulated Carney on his election victory and called it “one of greatest comebacks in the history of politics, maybe even greater than mine.” The Liberal Party was trailing Conservatives by 20 points in the polls in late 2024, but managed to win a strong minority government.
Meanwhile, Carney thanked Trump for his hospitality and “above all” his leadership.
“You’re a transformational president,” he said, citing his “relentless focus on the American worker, securing your borders, ending the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids, and securing the world.”
Carney said he was elected to “transform Canada” and that he also has a similar focus on the economy, on securing the border, combatting fentanyl, and a “much greater focus on defence and security.”
Trade Dispute
The two leaders had agreed in March to begin negotiations on trade and other issues after Canada’s general election last week.
Canada is one of the few countries to have entered a trade conflict with the United States, introducing retaliatory measures after Trump imposed various sets of tariffs on Canada. Other countries, with the exception of China, have not taken retaliatory measures as they attempt to reach deals with the United States.
Regarding the tariffs imposed on Canada, Trump told reporters there is nothing Carney could say to him that would lift the tariffs. “That’s just the way it is,” he said, when asked by reporters whether exemptions were possible.
Canada is currently under three different sets of U.S. tariffs, with items under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) being exempt. Trump also recently expressed his intention to impose 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made movies, which would impact Canada’s film industry.
During the election campaign, Carney focused heavily on Trump’s tariffs and comments about making Canada part of the United States, tapping into related anxieties and rising nationalist sentiments.
Canada, along with Mexico and China, were the first countries to be targeted by the U.S. president’s strategy of using tariffs to provoke change on trade and security issues. Trump went a step further with Canada by repeatedly saying it should become the 51st U.S. state.
The president did not raise the idea of 51st state often during the Canadian election campaign, but did so soon afterward. During an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press aired on May 4, Trump said he will “always talk about” making Canada the 51st state when asked if he would raise the topic during Carney’s first visit.
Trump then repeated his opinion that the United States doesn’t need what Canada exports, such as energy, cars, and lumber. He also repeated previous comments that he considers the boundary between the countries to be an “artificial line.”
Minutes before the two leaders were set to meet for the first time at the White House, Trump referenced it in a post on his Truth Social platform, repeating his messaging about the United States not needing Canadian products.
“I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things?” wrote Trump.
Trump did not expand on the nature of the subsidy. Some Canadian premiers and analysts have argued that Canada would have a negative trade balance with the United States if its oil exports were removed from the equation.
Trump began referring to Canada as the 51st state in late November 2024, when then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited him at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. He also started referring to Trudeau as “Governor” of Canada around the same time.
Trump spoke about his meeting with Trudeau while Carney was with him in the Oval Office. He recounted that Trudeau had told him it would mean the “end of Canada” if the United States imposed 25 percent tariffs. Trump said it was a “strange answer” and repeated that his country shouldn’t have to “subsidize” Canada.
Trudeau resigned in late March. Carney became prime minister after winning the Liberal leadership race and called an early election on March 23. He campaigned on being the party leader best-suited to manage Trump’s tariffs and repeatedly spoke of the need for a “strong mandate” to take on Trump. His party ultimately fell short of a majority government by three seats.
Following the April 28 election, Trump said Carney was a “very nice gentleman” and that the former central banker would visit the White House soon to “make a deal.”
In the days leading up to the meeting, Carney called Trump “one of the best negotiators” and said the discussions at the White House could be “difficult.”
“You go to these meetings well prepared, understanding the objectives of your counterpart and always asking in the best interests of Canada. We’ll go from there,” he said during a May 2 press conference.
Hours before Carney and Trump would meet, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he hoped it would be a “positive meeting” and that Trump would respect Canada’s sovereignty and end the tariffs.
“There’s too much collateral damage to innocent people, businesses and workers alike, on both sides of the border. Let’s put an end to it,” he said.
