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May 6, 2025 4:01 PM - The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney will have to navigate a delicate balance during his first in-person meeting with Donald Trump today, following months of the U.S. president targeting Canada with tariffs and taunts.
Carney and Trump will meet at the White House and the prime minister has said he expects "difficult, but constructive" conversations.
Carney has said the meeting will mark the beginning of a larger economic and security agreement between Canada and the United States.
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration.
Since his return to the White House, Trump has repeated a list of complaints about Canada and said it would be better as a U.S. state, while also slapping America's northern neighbour with early duties.
Former diplomat Colin Robertson, an expert on Canada-U.S. relations, says Carney will be prepared for any comments about Canada's sovereignty.
When asked on Monday what he expects out of the meeting with Carney, Trump said: "I'm not sure what he wants to see me about, but I guess he wants to make a deal."
The two leaders agreed in late March that Trump, and whoever was prime minister after the election, would meet shortly after Canadians voted to begin talks on a new economic and security pact between the two countries.
