Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit President Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
“We are meeting as heads of our government,” Mr. Carney said in a Friday press conference. “I am not pretending those discussions will be easy or they won’t proceed in a straight line.”
Canada was also not spared from U.S. tariffs — Mr. Trump imposed a 25% levy because of the fentanyl crisis, but the president exempted a large suite of goods under the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement that he negotiated in his first term.
Mr. Carney has had two phone calls with Mr. Trump. He said the president did not make any comments on their second call about Canada becoming the 51st state, a quip he has made multiple times previously, angering many Canadians.
He also said the conversation was “very constructive.”
“There will be zigs and zags, ups and downs. But as I said in my remarks, I will fight for the best deal for Canada and only accept the best deal for Canada and take as much time as necessary,” he said.
When asked if he has seen respect from the Trump administration, Mr. Carney said, “It’s always important to distinguish want from reality.”
“What the Canadian people clearly have stated, virtually without exception, is this [becoming part of the U.S.] will never ever happen,” he said.
Mr. Carney said Mr. Trump “respects, as others who are good negotiators — and he’s one of the best negotiators — they respect strength. That’s why we’re building Canada strong.”
“There’s lots of reasons to build Canada strong,” he said. “But the point is — and I will make this point repeatedly — we have more than enough to do here at home. That point about we can give ourselves more than the Americans can take away is absolutely right.”
He said Canada is going to focus on building itself up “while we have these negotiations with the Americans.”
“And if the negotiations with the Americans take longer, so be it,” he said. “We’ve got more than enough to do here.”
Mr. Trump heavily teased Mr. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, by commenting that Canada would be better off becoming the 51st state. He would often refer to Mr. Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau,” but hasn’t made any similar comments about Mr. Carney so far.
