By Sumayya
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated he had a “good conversation” with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding trade connections. In a post on the social media site X on Sunday, Carney said the chat builds on “recent helpful talks” about a potential trade agreement between Canada and the United States. The Prime Minister’s Office shared that the phone call took place on Saturday.
Carney described the agreement as one that would “make jobs for our workers, increase affordability for families, and completely respect Canada’s languages, culture, and independence.”
He added that Canadian and U.S. officials will be working in the next few weeks to “bring about that result.”
Trump told reporters Sunday afternoon that they had a “general idea of a very good agreement with Canada.”
“We have been losing money for many years with Canada… many many years, 70-75 years. So, we are now very close to having an agreement,” he said.
“I spoke with the prime minister the other day. I spoke to him again yesterday, and we have the general idea of an agreement that is going to be great for our farmers, great for our country, and it will be fine for Canada too.”
A statement from the White House said the Trump administration “welcomes continued meetings with Canada” as they work toward finishing the details of an agreement that will “bring meaningful results for the American people.”
Meanwhile, the office of Dominic LeBlanc, the minister in charge of Canada-U.S. trade, shared Sunday that he is not in Washington at this moment, and has nothing more to say about whether he plans to travel in the next few days.
‘Bring real results’
At a news meeting on the same day, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre encouraged Carney to “get a great agreement.” He said everyday Canadians cannot afford to wait for a trade agreement with the U.S.
“The prime minister promised in the last election he would get an even better agreement than we had before. He has broken that promise so far,” he said. “It is time for Mr. Carney to leave the big talk in the past and bring real results.”
The prime minister told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration has been “moving closer” to Canada’s position in the trade talks, following reports that the White House has become more willing to compromise due to weaknesses before the midterm elections.
Last week, multiple sources shared that the Americans seem to show more interest in signing an agreement than they have “in all the weeks before.”
Carney added on Monday that he cannot promise Trump will respect anything they sign.
“I do not know that,” he said, when specifically asked how he knows the U.S. president will sign for real.
He repeated his interest in an agreement that helps “all Canadians, with very clear final limits and lines we will not cross.”
“Which means that we were not willing to sign what was offered in August,” he said.
U.S. midterms create pressure
Tuesday’s midterm election brings very high stakes for both political parties. A large win for the Democrats could bring a control from Congress against Trump’s unusual use of presidential powers during the rest of his time in office.
Polls show Democrats are expected to win the House of Representatives, where gaining three more seats would give them a majority. The future of the Senate is less clear, where some polls show a Democratic gain of four seats is possible to reach.
While Trump’s first term shook the relationship between Canada and the U.S., his second term completely broke it. Canada was an early target for Trump’s taxes on imports, and Canadian people were shocked and horrified by the president’s repeated threats to take over Canadian land.
Arguments grew worse in August when trade talks broke down completely. Trump put 50 percent taxes on a large group of Canadian goods, banned people from bringing other Canadian products into the U.S., and signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
The trade war is very unpopular in states like Michigan and Maine, where close Senate races could ultimately decide which political party wins control of Congress.
But even if Democrats win next week, or win the race for the White House in the year 2028, it is not certain that Trump’s wall of taxes would suddenly go away.
Carney said last week that Canada was not yet ready to reach a trade agreement with Trump’s government.
On his way into the weekly Liberal national government group meeting on Parliament Hill, Carney said on Wednesday that Ottawa was ready to make an agreement only when it fits the interests of Canadians.
