Carney tells Trump Canada is ‘not for sale’ in high-stakes meeting at the White House

During his highly anticipated first in-person meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, Prime Minister Mark Carney told the U.S. President that Canada is “not for sale.”

“If I may, as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Carney said, in front of a room full of politicians, top staffers and reporters.

“We’re sitting in one right now... And 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,” he added.

• Follow CTV News’ live coverage of the high-stakes meeting between Carney and Trump

While Trump smiled and nodded as Carney spoke, he also referred to the border as an “artificial line,” and insisted “never say never.”

“I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable, and only doable in a very friendly way,” Trump said. “But if it’s to everybody’s benefit, you know, Canada loves us, and we love Canada, that’s, I think, the number one thing that’s important.”

At a press conference following the meeting, which Carney categorized as “constructive discussions,” the prime minister reiterated that the talks were between “leaders of two sovereign, independent nations.”

“I’m glad that you couldn’t tell what was going through my mind,” Carney said, when asked to give his perspective on the president’s 51st state comments. “With respect to the first point, the president has made known his wish about that issue for some time. 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 that this is never going to happen.”

When pressed on whether he has specifically asked Trump to stop referring to Canada as the 51st state, Carney said: “Yes.”

When asked about Trump’s response to that request, Carney said, “Look, I don’t know, he’s the president. He’s his own person … I’ve been very clear publicly, consistently. I’ve been very clear in private. I was clear again, in the Oval Office.”

In the face of Trump’s sweeping and stacked tariffs on Canadian products, coupled with his persistent threats to Canadian sovereignty, Carney has repeatedly said the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries, as citizens on both sides of the border have come to know it, is “over.”

But today’s meeting indicates there may still be room for bilateral co-operation, with Trump kicking off their Oval Office sit-down by congratulating Carney on his election win.

“It was probably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of politics, maybe even greater than mine,” Trump said.

The commander-in-chief added he watched the election “with interest,” and believes Canada chose “a very talented person, a very good person.”

Carney responded by thanking Trump for his hospitality and leadership, calling him a “transformational president.”

Speaking on background to reporters, a senior government official said the cordial tone between the president and prime minister continued during the post-meeting lunch.

The official said they found it “encouraging and interesting” that Trump sought out Carney’s perspective on certain foreign policy issues during that lunch, and that the two discussed several other topics, including the Arctic, defence, and the trade war.

Leaders discuss free-trade agreement

Since Carney’s swearing in as prime minister in mid-March, he and Trump have signalled the free trade agreement between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico — known as CUSMA — could be up for renegotiation sooner rather than later.

Despite the pact being inked during his first term, Trump has repeatedly called it a bad deal for the United States.

Asked Tuesday if he was prepared to abandon the agreement, Trump said: “No, it’s fine, it’s there, it’s good.”

Referring to it as the USMCA, as its known south of the border, Trump called it “a good deal for everybody.”

Trump also signalled some of his chagrin over the agreement stemmed from his dislike of Carney’s “predecessor,” seemingly referencing former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.

Freeland is a longtime friend of Carney, and despite their previous Liberal leadership rivalry, is currently a member of his cabinet.

Trump said renegotiations of the deal will come up in the “next year or so” as planned.

Carney added CUSMA is “a basis for a broader negotiation.”

“Some things about it are going to have to change,” Carney said. “And part of the way you’ve conducted these tariffs has taken advantage of existing aspects of (CUSMA), so it’s going to have to change.”

When asked later how he can trust that Trump is negotiating in good faith, considering the significant tariffs he’s implemented on Canadian goods despite a free-trade agreement, Carney said the “bottom line” is Canada will “make that determination over the course of the negotiations.”

President strikes friendly tone

Seemingly referencing his public dressing down — which devolved into a shouting match — of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in late February, Trump categorized his meeting with Carney as “much different,” and “very friendly.”

“We’re going to be friends with Canada, regardless of anything,” Trump also said. “We’re going to be friends with Canada. Canada is a very special place to me.”

Asked about the meeting later Tuesday afternoon, Trump said Carney is a “terrific guy,” and that it went “very well.”

“We had a very great meeting and no tension,” he said.

This comes after Trump told reporters at the White House the day before that he was “not sure” what Carney wanted to discuss with him, but speculated that the prime minister wanted to “make a deal.”

He followed up this messaging with a social media post Tuesday morning, in which he questioned the trade deficit between the two countries, which the president has repeatedly and erroneously referred to as a “subsidy.”

“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,” Trump wrote. “They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!”

When asked during his post-meeting press conference whether he feels the visit improved or worsened his assessment of Canada-U.S. relations, Carney again categorized the tête-à tête as “very constructive.”

“I feel better about the relations in many respects,” he said. “One, the posture, if I can put it that way, or the positioning the president took towards us.

“Secondly, the breadth of discussion and how concrete the discussions were,” he added. “These are the discussions you have when you’re looking to find solutions, as opposed to laying down terms, if you will.”

Joining Carney for the White House visit were several members of Carney’s front bench, including Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.

Other members of the Canadian delegation include Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, Privy Council clerk John Hannaford, Carney’s chief-of-staff Marco Mendicino, and senior adviser to the prime minister Lisa Jorgensen.

American administration officials taking part include U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.

Also in the room were Trump’s assistant and chief of staff Susie Wiles and Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller.

Canadian politicians weigh in

Ahead of the meeting, several Canadian politicians weighed in on the importance of it.

“Don’t get bullied, because we know where he’s going,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who also recently campaigned, successfully, on Trump as the central ballot-box issue, told reporters on Monday. “And stand firm. We’re their number one customer, and yes, they’re our number one customer, but just be strong, and we have your back.”

Ahead of a high-stakes meeting of his own in Ottawa on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wished Carney well in his meeting with Trump.

“Today, the president and the prime minister will meet, and we want to wish Prime Minister Carney a positive meeting. We hope that the president will honour our sovereignty and signal an end to these tariffs,” Poilievre said on Parliament Hill, ahead of the first meeting of his caucus since losing the election to Carney.

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Aiello