Carney, Trump to speak as Canada vows ‘reset’ in relationship

Canadian officials have urged Donald Trump to engage with the incoming PM ‘in a different way’ after talks with the US Commerce Secretary ‘lowered the temperature’ of the trade war.

Donald Trump speaks to the press from the Oval Office. Picture: AFP

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Canada’s incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to speak with Donald Trump in the coming days as Canadians promised a “reset in relations” after Ontario Premier Doug Ford held “productive” talks with the US Commerce Secretary on Friday (AEDT).

Canadian Industry Minister Francois Philippe-Champagne, who attended the talks with Mr Ford and Howard Lutnick over the escalating trade war, said there was “an understanding that there’ll be a discussion” between Mr Carney and the US President.

He said there would be a “reset” in the US-Canada relationship after Mr Carney is sworn in on Saturday (AEDT).

“We insisted they may take the opportunity to engage with the new prime minister in a different way,” he said, in an apparent reference to Mr Trump’s hostile relationship with outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Mr Carney has vowed to fight for Canadian interests after Mr Trump threatened to hit Canadian products with 25 per cent tariffs.

He has said that he would maintain retaliatory tariffs against the US “until the Americans show us respect” and had warned he would only engage with Mr Trump if the President accepted the country’s sovereignty.

Mr Ford, the Premier of Canada’s key province, emerged from the meeting with Mr Lutnick declaring the “temperature is being lowered” in the North American tariffs battle, despite Mr Trump doubling down on his attack against Canadian sovereignty earlier in the day.

“We’re like a family and sometimes there’s tension between families, but that was an extremely productive meeting,” he said outside the White House.

In a separate news conference at the Canadian Embassy, Mr Champagne and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the country’s counter-tariffs against American products would continue, but the discussion was constructive.

“We agreed to maintain the dialogue,” said Mr LeBlanc, adding that he texts with Mr Lutnick “late at night and early in the morning”.

On Friday morning Mr Trump launched a scathing attack on Canada by arguing it couldn’t exist as a country in its own right and only made sense as the 51st state of America in a press conference in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Doug Ford is leading the charge on tariffs for Canada. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Ford and Mr LeBlanc travelled to Washington for the talks with Mr Lutnick after Mr Ford withdrew his threat of applying a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity sent to Minnesota, Michigan and New York.

Mr Trump had also threatened to double the 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50 per cent, but stepped back when Mr Ford suspended the surcharge.

After the Thursday meeting with Mr Lutnick, Mr Ford said that “we’ve had a very, very productive meeting” and “we feel that the temperature is being lowered”.

He added: “I’m feeling very positive,” describing it as “the best meeting” he’s ever had.

Another meeting between Ontario and Canadian officials and Mr Lutnick is expected for next week.

Making clear that he was “not going to bend at all” on his across-the-board steel and aluminium tariffs, Mr Trump took a huge swipe at Canada in his earlier Oval Office press conference – arguing it would not survive without support from America.

“In the case of Canada, we’re spending 200 billion (dollars) a year to subsidise Canada. I love Canada. I love the people of Canada,” he said. “But you know, the United States can’t subsidise a country for $200 billion a year. We don’t need their cars. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need their lumber.

“We do it because we want to be helpful, but it comes a point when you just can’t do that.

“You have to run your own country. And to be honest with you, Canada only works as a state,” he said. “It would be one of the great states.”

Donald Trump hosts NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump also took aim at the border line between America and Canada, saying: “They drew an artificial line right through it – between Canada and the US – just a straight artificial line.

“Somebody did it a long time ago. Many, many decades ago. And it makes no sense,” he said. “It’s so perfect as a great and cherished state.”

He said the national anthem could remain, but stressed it would “be for the state – one of our greatest states. Maybe our greatest state. But why should we subsidise another country for $200bn a year?”

Despite the attack, Mr Trump’s nominee to become America’s ambassador in Ottawa, Pete Hoekstra, agreed in his confirmation hearing that Canada was a sovereign state and “should not be even jokingly referred to as the 51st state”.

“Canada is a sovereign state, yes,” he said.

Continuing to make the case for America acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Mr Trump suggested that “NATO might have to get involved in a way because we really need Greenland for national security. It’s really important.”

In another escalation of his trade war, Mr Trump took a major swipe at the European Union. Before his meeting with Mr Rutte, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social account that the EU was “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States”.

Sitting next to Mr Trump in the Oval Office, Mr Rutte said the US President had incentivised NATO members to ramp up their defence spending.

“In Europe, we are now spending, when you take it to aggregate, $700bn more on defence that when you came in office in 2016 and 2017.”

He said that, since Mr Trump was re-elected on January 20, there had been “staggering” changes.

“The Europeans, committing to a package of $800bn (in) defence spending. The Germans now have potentially up to half a trillion extra in defence spending. And then, of course, you had Keir Starmer here, the British Prime Minister and others, all committing to much higher defence spending.

“We are not there. We need to do more. But I really want to work together with you … to make sure that we will have a NATO which is really reinvigorated under your leadership. And we are getting there.”

He also thanked Mr Trump for his efforts to bring the war in Eastern Europe to an end, telling the US President “you broke the deadlock”.