Newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney said his initial face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump was a positive first step, as the leaders met Tuesday during a period of high tension between the two nations.
The day began with a meeting in the Oval Office, and ended with Carney holding a news conference at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
There he said the discussions with Trump were wide-ranging, but ultimately constructive.
"I conveyed to the President today what our countries have long proven to be true: that Canada and the United States are stronger when we work together," said Carney. "Really today marked the end of the beginning, of a process of the United States and Canada redefining that relationship of working together. The question is, how we will cooperate in the future. How we can build an economic and security relationship built on mutual respect and common interests, that delivers transformational benefits to our economies."
The first step in establishing mutual respect would be for Trump to cease his calls for Canada to become the 51st state. Carney told reporters that was a point he impressed onto the President.
"I've been careful always to distinguish between wish and reality. I was clear there in the Oval Office as I've been clear throughout on behalf of Canadians, saying this is never going to happen. Canada is not for sale, it never will be for sale," said Carney, noting in his French comments that Trump will ultimately say what he wants to say.
When it came to discussions about removing tariffs, Carney said he would take Trump at his word that he is willing to negotiate a new trade deal, and removing them would be a necessity. However, he said he did try and address the harm of certain tariffs over the course of the day.
For auto tariffs specifically, Carney said he tried to impart on the President how the Canadian auto industry plays an important role in enhancing American auto companies.
Carney also pointed to investments made to combat fentanyl at the border, saying that while Canada's contribution to the cross-border problem was always very small, it's down by 90 per cent with these latest efforts.
Ultimately Carney said he wasn't expecting "white smoke" coming out of the meeting, but said progress had been made, and he was looking forward to continuing discussions. Carney also confirmed Trump would be attending the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
"We have a lot more work to do, I'm not trying to suggest at any respect that we can have one meeting and everything's changed, but now we are engaged and very fully engaged," said Carney.