Trump says Carney will ‘walk away very happy’ from White House meeting on trade

President Donald Trump said Tuesday Canadians will “love” America again and Prime Minister Mark Carney would walk away “very happy” from their working meetings in the U.S. capital.

In a rambling press conference with Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump mused about everything from his dislike of former U.S. President Joe Biden to his hatred of windmills — but only offered hints on trade.

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When reporters asked Trump why he thought the Canadian delegation would leave Washington happy, the president refused to explain.

“Well, you’ll find out, but I think the people of Canada, they will love us again,” Trump said. “Most of them still do. I assume a lot of them, I think they love us.”

Carney largely ceded the press conference to Trump, who appeared to be in good spirits as he joked around.

The president offered some vague but encouraging signals, but persisted with his inflammatory trade rhetoric and even joked again about making Canada a U.S. state.

At the meeting’s outset, Carney once again called Trump a “transformative” president, saying he has extracted unprecedented commitments from NATO members on defence spending.

Trump interrupted Carney to add “the merger of Canada and the United States” to the list of Trump’s accomplishments.

“That wasn’t where I was going,” Carney replied.

Trump lavished praise on Carney, calling him a great leader and tough negotiator. When a reporter asked why the two countries have been unable to reach a trade deal to date, Trump replied, “Because I want to be a great man, too.”

Trump said the U.S. could renew the trilateral North American free trade agreement. He also suggested in the same breath that Canada and the U.S. could instead work out separate deals and did not indicate a preference either way.

The president showed no signs of relenting on tariffs. He said the U.S. wants to make its own steel and autos and warned Canada and the U.S. have “natural” business conflicts.

“Americans don’t want to buy cars that are made in Canada,” Trump said.

“It’s a tough situation because we want to make our cars here. At the same time, we want Canada to do well making cars. So, we’re working on formulas and I think we’ll get there.”

Carney said he agrees there are areas where the two countries compete and will need to come to an agreement that works for both sides.

“There are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on, and we’re going to get the right deal — the right deal for America, right deal obviously from my perspective, for Canada,” Carney said.

Trump interjected to say he believes the two countries will work together on his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence shield.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said shortly before the meeting began that if Carney can’t reach a deal to end the U.S. sectoral tariffs, Ottawa should start hitting back hard with retaliatory measures.

“You sure don’t sit back and get beat up by a bully every single day. It’s like a kid going to the schoolyard and getting punched in the face every day. It’s time to hit back, if he can’t get a deal,” Ford told reporters in Toronto.

“Maybe Prime Minister Carney knows something I don’t know, and if that’s the case, he should sit down the premiers and explain that.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said everyone is “rooting for the prime minister to come home” with a win.

She said she’s looking for “either some substantial advancement on the time frame to renegotiate” the trilateral North American free-trade pact. At a minimum, she said, Carney should “try to find some kind of compromise around autos and steel and aluminum, and perhaps even softwood lumber.”

“Those are the things that are hurting our economy the most,” Smith told reporters in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.

— With files from Kyle Duggan and Nick Murray