'I guess he's going to ask about tariffs': Trump set to host Carney for second Oval Office meeting
WASHINGTON D.C. — Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for his second time in the Oval Office, a meeting that political and industry observers are watching to see whether it brings any tariff reprieve.
A senior government official, speaking on a not-for-attribution basis ahead of the trip, tempered expectations about what could be delivered during the second sitdown in Washington between the leaders, since Carney took office back in May.
The Oval Office meeting between Carney and Trump will be followed by a working lunch in the cabinet room between the leaders, who will be joined by senior members from both of their teams.
“I guess he’s going to ask about tariffs ’cause a lot of companies from Canada are moving into the United States,” Trump said of the upcoming meeting on Monday.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand travelled with Carney to Washington to meet their U.S counterparts, as did several senior staff, including Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Sabia.
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson will also be attending, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Carney was set to wake up Tuesday in Blair House, an official residence near the White House, where guests must be invited to stay by the president.
While those accommodations signalled a sign of warmth, the stakes remain high for what unfolds when Carney sits down with Trump in the Oval Office later Tuesday.
The leaders’ meeting coincides with the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, which triggered two years of war.
The sitdown follows Carney’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly last month, which was the last time the two leaders saw each other, and lands as Trump tries to implement his peace plan in Gaza. The president had previously publicly rebuked Canada for the move.
When it comes to trade, Carney has yet to secure a deal that would see the president remove or lessen the 50 per cent tariffs slapped on the steel and aluminum sectors, which Trump levied under section 232 of its U.S. Trade Expansion Act.
Tariffs also remain on copper and auto parts not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement.
On Monday, as Carney was preparing to depart for Washington, Trump announced even more tariffs, this time on heavy trucks.
Trump said a 25 per cent tariff on medium and heavy-duty truck imports will come into effect on Nov. 1, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social .
The senior official emphasized that Canadians should not expect a breakthrough or deal to be announced following Tuesday’s meeting.
The official said the sit-down was more of a chance for Carney, Trump and their teams to talk through their various issues behind closed doors in a way that only an in-person meeting format could allow.
Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre is nevertheless calling on the prime minister to deliver a “win,” saying Carney has failed to live up to the commitments he campaigned on during the spring federal election to secure a deal with Trump.
With two self-imposed deadlines over the summer come and gone, Carney has defended the position Canada finds itself in by calling it the “best” case scenario of any country grappling with U.S. tariffs finds itself in, given that products covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement were exempt.
That means roughly 85 per cent of the goods travelling between Canada and the U.S. are tariff-free.
Business Council of Canada President Goldy Hyder underscored that the deal was what has saved the Canadian economy from future damage by Trump’s global tariffs and said that maintaining it must be “job one.”
“We can’t get comfortable and complacent on that, however, because what happens if one day, for some reason, that’s not there anymore,” he said in an interview.
“We have to work towards preserving that, which means we need to make sure we’re leaning in on the review and renewal of the (Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement), that we believe in that review and renewal, and that we’re working hard with our negotiators to get the best deal for Canada.”
The senior government official said one of the motivating factors for Carney to meet with Trump was the first joint review of the agreement since it was struck during Trump’s first term, scheduled for 2026.
Both Canada and the U.S. have launched consultations on the deal, the review of which the Canadian side is expecting to be a lengthy and complex process, which Carney’s team is hoping to lay some groundwork on.
National Post
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