Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has no immediate reason to reconnect with U.S. President Donald Trump on trade matters, adding that conversations will resume “when it’s appropriate.” Speaking to reporters at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, Carney said he expects to speak with the president within the next two weeks, but stressed that he is not rushing to restart discussions.
“I look forward to speaking with the president soon, but I don’t have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now,” Carney said. “When America wants to come back and have conversations on the trade side, we will have those discussions.”
Trump skipped this year’s G20 Summit, and relations between the two leaders have appeared cool in recent weeks. Last month, Trump abruptly halted discussions over his sweeping tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles after the Ontario government ran an anti-tariff advertising blitz across the U.S. The ads featured clips of former president Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs hurt economies and trigger trade wars—messaging that reportedly irritated Trump.
Opposition Conservatives have accused Carney of failing to make progress on the tariff issue, despite campaigning earlier this year as the leader best equipped to resolve the dispute quickly. “They were elected under false pretences,” Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus charged in the House of Commons. “They were supposed to find a solution to the problems with Donald Trump, but they have failed miserably.”
Carney, however, maintains that trade negotiations naturally experience pauses and surges, and will resume in due course. He also noted that both he and Trump have been focused on other priorities. “I’ve been busy,” Carney said. “We passed a budget that’s going to catalyze a trillion dollars of investment. We have launched new trade agreements. We’ve secured new investment in the country of a size not seen, arguably, before. So, we’re busy, he’s got other things to do, and we’ll re-engage when it’s appropriate.”
The pause in bilateral communications comes as Canada prepares for broader negotiations over the renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), set for review next year. Former chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul warned MPs that the United States will likely apply pressure on Canada and Mexico by withholding support for extending the agreement, potentially using the renewal process as leverage.
“The period between January and June will be critical to the future of the CUSMA and to our trading relationship with the U.S.,” Verheul told the House of Commons trade committee on Oct. 30.