Trump says ‘We’ll see’ on whether to restart trade talks with Canada

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump answered “we’ll see” when he was asked Sunday whether he’d resume the trade talks he halted with Canada earlier this year.

Trump made several comments about the ongoing trade dispute with Canada as he spoke with reporters outside a gala for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.

He says he has a good relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney, but that Canada, in his words, “makes a lot of things we don’t need because we make them also.”

Trump then said, “We’ll work it out.”

The president halted trade talks in October over an Ontario-sponsored ad that quoted former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

He and Carney appeared to get on well Friday when they sat with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during the FIFA World Cup draw before the three leaders entered a closed-door meeting.

“We spoke for a half-hour. Very good, very productive. (We) talked mostly trade,” Trump said of the meeting. “I have a great relationship with Canada. They’re very tough traders, but I have a very good relationship with the prime minister and with Canada.

“Canada is a special place, and they really are good at ice hockey, aren’t they?”

After Friday’s meeting, which also happened at the Kennedy Center, the Prime Minister’s Office said the leaders agreed to keep working on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

It was the first private meeting between Carney and Trump since the U.S. president ended trade talks in October.

On Wednesday, Trump mused about letting CUSMA die when it comes up for review next year.

Mexico and Canada have been searching for tariff off-ramps while making the case for duty-free continental trade.

Trump boosted duties on Canada to 35 per cent in August but has continued to give extensions to Mexico, which is being hit by 25 per cent duties. Both countries are also being slammed by the president’s separate tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, lumber and copper.

On Sunday, Trump hosted the Kennedy Center Honors, marking the first time a U.S. president has taken the stage instead of watching from the balcony.

This year’s honorees include Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait and Michael Crawford.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2025.

The Canadian Press