Carney says trade talks with Trump should happen face-to-face

Liberal Leader Mark Carney took his campaign to Vancouver Island, where polls suggest a tight race.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney says if he wins the election on Monday, he will push for an immediate meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Carney held his first phone call with Trump during the first week of the election. The two agreed that as soon as the campaign ended, Trump and the Canadian prime minister would immediately launch discussions on a new trade and security pact between the two countries.

Campaigning in Victoria on Wednesday, Carney said the first meeting would happen “within days” and that it must be an “ambitious and broad-ranging discussion” between the leaders of two sovereign nations.

Asked if he’d go to Washington, Carney said there are “many ways to start” but discussions of this nature are best advanced in person.

Carney has touted his ability to negotiate with Trump throughout the election campaign. Tensions with the U.S. have allowed him to pick up votes, with polls suggesting that Trump’s trade aggression remains the top issue motivating voters, and that more Canadians prefer Carney dealing with Trump over Poilievre.

A recent Leger poll — which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error — reports 35 per cent of poll respondents cited Trump and the U.S. as the factors influencing their choice the most, followed by inflation and health care, both at 22 per cent.

Poll aggregator 338 Canada currently has the Liberals projected to win 184 seats, the Conservatives 126, the Bloc Québécois 23 and the NDP nine.

Polls suggest the race in British Columbia is tight, with voters divided between the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Carney held a news conference Wednesday at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, where he vowed to “protect” B.C. from Trump’s trade war.

He said the province is being targeted by U.S. tariffs.

Carney was expected to make short stops later Wednesday in B.C. ridings now held by the Conservatives and the NDP before holding an evening rally in Surrey, B.C. — a city of more than 600,000 people in the Vancouver metro area where the Liberals are in some tight contests with the Conservatives.

One of the ridings he’s visiting is Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, which has been held by the NDP since 2015. Current polls suggest the riding contest is shaping into a pitched battle among the Liberals, NDP and Conservatives.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly called this week for a Liberal majority. When asked why a majority is necessary to negotiate with Trump, Carney said a clear mandate would put the country in a better position for those discussions.

Asked if he’s also calling for a majority government, Carney said he’s “asking for a series of single votes from Canadians for a Liberal party that is determined to build the country.”

The Liberal leader was also asked how he would convince progressive NDP voters that he can be trusted.

Carney responded by saying that the “biggest thing” in this election is the question of who is going to stand up to Trump. He also knocked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s platform and said his rival is focused on cuts.

Carney also said he was in B.C. because the party has “amazing” Liberal candidates and this is a “crucial” election.

“The stakes are enormous here in Victoria, all the way up island and across British Columbia and across Canada, and that’s why we’re here is to get that message across,” Carney said.

During a meet-and-greet at the Saxe Point Public House in Victoria, Carney said the situation with the U.S. is “serious” and is not just about the tariff war.

“It is a desire to control, to own a lot of our resources,” he said. “We have to stand up to them and that process has started … We are fighting them, elbows up.”

Carney said he loved the advance voting numbers and joked that “everyone has already voted.”

Elections Canada said in a news release Tuesday that the four days of advance polling between Friday and Monday set a new record for turnout, with 7.3 million people casting ballots early.

“This is the last five minutes of game seven and we got to have a big push,” Carney said. “We’re going to win this battle with the Americans and we’re going to build Canada strong.”

Written by Anja Karadeglija in Victoria, B.C., and Catherine Morrison in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2025.