Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made his second visit to the White House in five months on Tuesday, amid growing pressure to address U.S. tariffs on steel, cars and other goods that are hurting the Canadian economy.
Carney and US President Donald Trump, both smiling, shook hands and chatted briefly before entering the building. Their agenda included an in-person meeting followed by lunch. “I liked him from the beginning and we’ve had a good relationship,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, sitting next to Carney.
“We have a natural conflict. We also have mutual love… you know we have a great love for each other,” he added, noting that the two would argue about tariffs.
In response, Carney called Trump a “transformative president.”
A Canadian government official and several analysts downplayed the chances of an imminent trade deal with Trump, noting that the fact that discussions are continuing should already be considered a success for Carney.
The prime minister last visited the Oval Office in May, when he bluntly told Trump that Canada would “never be for sale,” in response to the US president’s repeated threat to buy or annex the country. Since then, Carney has made several concessions to his main trading partner, including the elimination of some counter-tariffs and a digital services tax that affected American technology companies.
The prime minister’s office said the working visit will focus on forging a new economic and security relationship with the United States.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Monday: “I’m sure trade will be a topic of discussion…along with all the other issues facing both Canada and the United States.”
Canadian steel and automotive industries hardest hit
Although most Canadian exports enter the United States tariff-free thanks to the free trade agreement between both countries and Mexico, the steel, aluminum and automobile sectors — as well as several small businesses — have been hit hard by the tariffs.
“The reality is, right now, Canadian products have some of the lowest tariffs,” said Jonathan Kalles, a former adviser to Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau. “You don’t want to provoke someone when the situation could be much worse,” he added, stressing that any meeting with Trump involves a calculated risk.
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“Carney would probably get a better deal through private negotiations, not with the pomp and ceremony of going to the White House,” he said.
Carney won the election in April after promising to be tough with Trump and establish a new economic relationship with the United States. Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, said polls show Canadians have generally been willing to give the prime minister time to negotiate with Washington.
“But that time is limited,” Kurl warned, noting that pressure could increase amid job losses and weakening economic growth caused by U.S. tariffs. Currently, the United States is the destination for almost three-quarters of Canadian exports.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Carney to take a stronger stance against Trump.
“It seems that we are weakening our position by continually withdrawing tariffs. I would take a different approach: try to reach an agreement. If it cannot be done, we must fight back strongly and never stop doing so, because we cannot be left behind by anyone, especially President Trump,” he told reporters.
“You sure can’t sit back and let a bully beat you up every day.”
Opposition criticizes Carney’s approach
Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre criticized Carney’s strategy toward Trump, recalling his previous promise to “negotiate a victory” before July 21. On Monday, Poilievre said the prime minister didn’t seem to be accomplishing much with his trip to Washington.
Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for trade between Canada and the United States, responded that the country still has work to do on sectoral tariffs.
“Is the opposition leader implying that if the president of the United States invites us to Washington for a meeting and a working lunch, we should just say no and hang up the phone?” LeBlanc replied in Parliament.
Asa McKercher, a specialist in Canada-U.S. relations at St. Francis Xavier University, said Carney’s meeting with Trump would be a success if it were recognized that Canada has taken steps to address some of the American president’s lingering grievances.
“Carney just created a new defense agency and increased military spending, so it would be great if Trump reduced some of those sectoral tariffs on cars,” McKercher said, alluding to Trump’s earlier complaint that Canada was a “military freeloader.”
With information from Reuters
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