- Carney met Trump in D.C. amid rising tensions over tariffs and Trump’s wild annexation talk.
- Trump reignited friction with a Truth Social post accusing Canada of draining $200B from the U.S.
- Experts say Carney’s first meeting with Trump is a key test of his promise to stand firm.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney touched down in Washington this week for what’s shaping up to be one of the most tense cross-border visits in years. His sit-down with President Donald Trump on Tuesday came as U.S.-Canada relations teeter on the edge—tariffs are back, insults are flying, and, yeah… Trump’s still floating the idea of annexing Canada.
Trump kicks things off with… a post
Just minutes before shaking Carney’s hand outside the West Wing, Trump fired off a post on Truth Social: “Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year…?” he wrote. “We don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship.” So, not exactly a warm welcome.
Carney, a former central banker turned anti-Trump political star, ran his campaign on a pretty clear message: Canada’s not here to be pushed around. “Our old relationship based on steadily increasing integration is over,” he said last week. “The question now is how our nations will cooperate in the future.”
Trying to play nice—at least for now
Despite all the noise, Carney went into the visit with a tone of cautious optimism. “Canada and the United States are strongest when we work together — and that work starts now,” he posted on X after arriving Monday.
But since Trump’s return to the White House, the mood’s been tense. He’s reimposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian exports, threatened to rip up water-sharing deals, and, yep—seriously suggested Canada become America’s 51st state. Carney has, unsurprisingly, called that idea absurd.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick didn’t exactly help smooth things over. “They have their socialist regime and it’s basically feeding off of America,” he told Fox Business. “I don’t see how it works out perfectly.” So much for diplomacy.
Election meddling… didn’t go as planned
If you’re wondering how things got this sour, part of it stems from Trump’s not-so-subtle attempts to influence Canada’s last election. He offered “ZERO TARIFFS” if Canada would agree to join the U.S.—a move that ended up boosting Carney’s popularity and helping him edge out Pierre Poilievre after Justin Trudeau stepped aside.
Now, Carney’s in D.C., face-to-face with Trump for the first time, with no official agenda announced. Experts say how he handles this moment could define his leadership.
“This is a very important moment for him,” said Genevieve Tellier of the University of Ottawa. “He said he could take on Mr. Trump — now he has to prove it.”
