It could have been worse.
That’s the key takeaway from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s sit-down with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Tensions had been raised before the meeting, when the U.S. President posted the following on Truth Social:
“I look forward to meeting the new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. 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? 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, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us! The Prime Minister will be arriving shortly and that will be, most likely, my only question of consequence.”
Before getting into the Oval Office meeting, I’ll take a moment to address the false claims in Trump’s statement.
First, America does not subsidize Canada. Excluding crude oil, the United States has a trade surplus with Canada. American imports Canadian crude oil at a substantial discount (Western Canada Select is currently priced at USD 44.78 per barrel compared to West Texas Intermediate at USD 59.22).
Second, if America did not need Canadian products, American firms and consumers would not buy them. Those firms and consumers have chosen to purchase substantial amounts of Canadian products, and sell a significant amount to Canada (Canada purchases more American products than any other nation).
Third, while America possesses significant military strength, there is no indication that America’s military budget would be smaller if Canada’s military budget were larger. This is not to say Canada shouldn’t increase its military spending (we must), but to note that claims of the U.S. spending to protect Canada are not grounded in reality. Canada, being such a close and reliable ally of the U.S., has likely saved our southern neighbour from having to spend tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions of dollars, preparing for a threat across the border.
With that out of the way, let’s look at the meeting itself.
Things started well, with Trump expressing what appeared to be genuine respect for the Canadian Prime Minister and attempting to take some credit for Carney’s win. He indicated respect for Carney’s debating skills, and even said Carney’s comeback (the Liberals recovering from a large deficit in a short time) was perhaps a greater comeback than Trump’s return to the White House after his defeat in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. That’s about as good a compliment as someone can get from Trump, given his outsize sense of self.
Prime Minister Carney reciprocated the positive tone, referring to the U.S. President as a “transformational leader,” praising Trump’s focus on American workers, border security, and fentanyl. Carney expressed his commitment to those issues in the Canadian context and emphasized the importance of Canada-U.S. cooperation in both the economic and national security spheres. This was an attempt by the Prime Minister to link his priorities and Trump’s priorities in the mind of the U.S. President.
The meeting remained cordial throughout, though the tension increased when Trump, responding to a reporter’s question, reiterated that he thought Canada would be best off as a U.S. State, and referred to the Canada-U.S. border as an artificially drawn line. Understandably, this drew a response from Carney, who, in what was his best moment of the meeting, noted that “There are some places that are never for sale,” and that Canada is one of them:
“Canadian PM Mark Carney: “There are some places that are never for sale…Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale ever.””
This was effective framing by Carney. By referring to Canadians as ‘owners,’ and linking Canada to locations the U.S. President respects (Buckingham Palace, the White House), Carney, while not changing Trump’s mind, laid out Canada’s position in a strong yet reasonable manner.
This did not stop Trump from continuing to make false claims and continue to show little respect for Canadian sovereignty. However, Carney did what he had to do and left no doubt that we Canadians are intent on remaining a sovereign country. Trump also notably emphasized that it would “take two to tango,” showing a modicum of acknowledgment that Canadians will not have anything forced on us. It is saddening that such a bare-bones admission of reality is worth noting, but that goes to show how deeply damaged the Canada-U.S. relationship has been, and how little we can expect from the U.S. President.
The meeting ended on a somewhat sour note, with Trump – who monopolized nearly all the meeting time and spoke about many issues unrelated to his visit with the Prime Minister – ending with a tirade against Canada-U.S. trade, repeating his claim that the U.S. “doesn’t need” a wide variety of Canadian-made products. Trump also told a reporter there was nothing Carney could say to change his mind on tariffing Canada. While Carney sought to interject, Trump called an end to the press conference, and reporters were ushered out.
Fundamentally, little has changed so far in the Canada-U.S. trading relationship. Trump appears ideologically committed to tariffs, continues to misunderstand trade at a basic level, and does not believe Canada should remain a sovereign nation. Nobody in the United States has been able to change Trump’s opinions on those matters, though the markets have shown some ability to influence them, and it would thus be unrealistic to expect a Canadian Prime Minister to change them.
However, Prime Minister Carney managed to convey a sense of restraint and resolve, and defended Canada’s position as an independent country while seeking common ground with a ‘difficult’ U.S. Administration. Canada’s image on the world stage will benefit from the contrast on display in the Oval Office, and investors looking for a stable place to invest will have reason for renewed confidence in Canada.
Carney and Trump have significant differences in both policy and temperament. However, the U.S. President appears to have a baseline level of respect for the Canadian Prime Minister that was absent toward the end of Justin Trudeau’s time in power. That is not a bad thing.
Beyond partisanship or scoring political points here at home, we can acknowledge that the Prime Minister represented Canada well in Washington. At a time when there are internal and external forces seeking to weaken our nation, it remains important for Canadians to stand together.
Spencer Fernando
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