Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had a “good conversation” with U.S. President Donald Trump on trade relations. In an X post on Sunday, Carney said the talk builds on “recent constructive discussions” on a prospective Canada-U.S. trade deal. The Prime Minister’s Office told CTV News the call happened on Saturday.” Carney described the deal as one that would “create jobs for our workers, boost affordability for families, and fully create Canada’s languages, culture and sovereignty.” He added that Canadian and U.S. representatives will be working in the coming weeks to “deliver that outcome.” At a press conference Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre encouraged Carney to “get a great deal.” He said everyday Canadians can’t afford to wait for a trade deal with the U.S. “The prime minister promised in the last election he would get an even better deal than we had before. He’s broken that promise so far,” he said. “It’s time for Mr. Carney to put the big talk in the past and deliver real results.” The prime minister told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration has been “coming closer” to Canada’s position on the trade talks, following CTV News reporting that the White House has become more amenable due to vulnerabilities ahead of the midterm elections. Last week, multiple sources told CTV News that the Americans seem to show more interest in inking a deal than they have “in all the weeks prior.” Carney on Monday, added that he can’t guarantee Trump will respect anything they sign. “I don’t know that,” he said, when specifically asked how he knows the U.S. president will sign in pen. He reiterated interest in an agreement that benefits “all Canadians, with very clear bottom lines, red lines.” “Which means that we were not willing to sign what was offered in August,” he said. U.S. midterms exert pressure Tuesday’s midterm election brings high stakes for both parties. A Democrat wave could see a Congressional check to Trump’s unprecedented use of executive powers during the remainder of his tenure. Polling shows Democrats are favoured to take the House, where a net gain of three seats would give them a majority. The future of the Senate is less clear, where some polling shows a Democrat net gain of four seats is within reach. While Trump’s first term rattled the bilateral relationship between Canada and the U.S., his second term blew it up. Canada was an early target of Trump’s tariffs and Canadians were shocked and appalled by the president’s repeated threats of annexation. Tensions escalated further in August when trade talks collapsed. Trump slapped an array of Canadian goods with 50 per cent tariffs, banned imports of other Canadian products and signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America. The trade war is deeply unpopular in states like Michigan and Maine, where tight Senate races ultimately could decide which party gains congressional control. But even if Democrats emerge triumphant next week, or win the White House in 2028, it’s not clear that Trump’s tariff wall would suddenly drop. Carney said last week that Canada was not yet in a position to reach a trade deal with Trump’s administration. On his way into the weekly Liberal national caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, Carney said on Wednesday that Ottawa was prepared to make a deal only when it suits Canadians’ interests. With files from Spencer Van Dyk and the Canadian Press
