Carney stresses Canada will never be for sale in first meeting with Trump

By David Ljunggren and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House on Tuesday for his first talks with Donald Trump and bluntly told the U.S. president that Canada would never be for sale.

Carney won the April 28 election on a promise to stand up to Trump, who has imposed tariffs on some Canadian products and often muses about annexing the country.

Although Carney has repeatedly called these actions a betrayal, the two leaders showed little animosity during an opening session at the Oval Office where both men praised each other in front of reporters.

Trump said the two sides would not be discussing Canada becoming part of the United States, but said it would be "a wonderful marriage."

Carney put down the annexation idea firmly.

"It's not for sale, it won't be for sale - ever," he said.

"Never say never, never say never," Trump said.

Trump, whose tariff policy has rattled world markets, had said he and Carney would discuss "tough points," an allusion to the president's belief that the United States can do without Canadian products, a point that he made at length during the Oval Office conversation.

The meeting never appeared at risk of degenerating into the acrimonious exchanges that marked the Oval Office visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February. That encounter has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump.

"This is not going to be like we had another little blowup with somebody else," Trump said.

"Regardless of anything, we're going to be friends with Canada. Canada is a very special place to me," he said, adding that the United States would always protect Canada.

Carney's Liberal Party promised voters it would create a new bilateral economic and security relationship with Washington and diversify an economy heavily dependent on exports to the U.S.

Ahead of the visit, Carney played down expectations of a breakthrough in the talks. Indeed, when Trump was asked if Carney could say anything to persuade him to lift tariffs, he replied, "No."

Greg MacEachern, principal at lobby group KAN Strategies and a former adviser to the Liberal government in the early 2000s, gave Carney high marks for his handling of Trump.

“I think Prime Minister Carney did what he needed to do, which was push back in a respectful Canadian way where he could without elevating the temperature and risking a rant that other world leaders have had to endure," he said.

A senior Canadian government official said Carney's private lunch with Trump after the Oval Office meeting was constructive. Carney told Trump the tariffs did not make sense, but not in a confrontational way, the official said.

TRADE DEAL IN FOCUS

Carney's comments about a new economic relationship had cast into doubt the future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed during his first White House term but has distanced himself from. It is due to be reviewed in 2026.

Carney steered clear of suggesting a major revamp, saying only that some things about the pact needed to be changed, while Trump described the agreement as fine and great for all countries.

Trump had famously bad relations with Justin Trudeau, Carney's predecessor, and during the meeting criticized him and former Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland for how they negotiated the USMCA.

In a Truth Social Post just before the leaders met, Trump reiterated complaints about the trading relationship.

"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," Trump wrote.

During the meeting, Trump reiterated complaints about what he called the huge U.S. deficit with Canada. Canada's merchandise trade surplus was C$102.3 billion ($74.25 billion) in 2024, due mostly to American imports of Canadian oil.

Carney, a 60-year-old ex-central banker with no previous political experience, was elected Liberal leader in March to replace Trudeau.

Canada is the U.S.' second-largest individual trading partner after Mexico, and the largest export market for U.S. goods. More than $760 billion in goods flowed between the two countries last year.

Ahead of the meeting, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday Canada's goods trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to a five-month low in March, the month when Trump's hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum took effect. Canadian exports to the U.S. plunged by $3.7 billion, the second-largest drop on record.

Trump in March imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports and then slapped another 25% tariff on cars and parts that did not comply with a North American free trade agreement.

On Sunday, Trump said he would put a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S., without giving details, in a potential blow to Canada's film industry.

(With additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu in Washington, Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa; Editing by Nia Williams and Rod Nickel)