Carney says solving U.S. issues ‘won’t happen overnight’ amid Trump tariffs

Carney is expected to hold his first conversation with Trump as prime minister in the coming days, as officials on both sides of the border continue more fulsome trade talks.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday it will take time to solve economic and security issues between Canada and the U.S. amid President Donald Trump’s trade war, warning no “magic” single meeting will “unlock things.”

Carney is expected to hold his first conversation with Trump as prime minister in the coming days, as officials on both sides of the border continue talks on a broader trade relationship that Ottawa hopes will include exemptions from Trump’s punitive tariffs.

Carney told reporters in Iqaluit those tariffs and other actions from the Trump administration have “called into question the validity” of free trade rules enshrined in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which Trump negotiated during his first term.

“That means that we should have a broader conversation about our commercial relationship, which also involves a conversation about our security relationship with the United States,” he said.

“It won’t happen overnight. There’s no magic one meeting that is going to unlock things.”

Carney delivered that answer in response to a reporter’s question of whether he agrees with the view of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, that Trump’s goal is to damage Canada economically in order to annex the country, as he has frequently threatened to do.

He said Trump “wants many things,” including an end to the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. and greater American investment and manufacturing, but did not list Canada as one of those things.

“Canada is strong and it’s going to get stronger,” he said.