Canada’s new prime minister says he’ll be speaking soon with Trump for the first time

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the media after meeting with his cabinet to deal with the US auto tariffs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Mar. 27, 2025. (AFP)

• “We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two,” Carney said
• “It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner”

TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he would speak with US President Donald Trump in the coming days after Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on auto imports.
Carney, who hasn’t spoken with Trump since becoming Canada’s new leader nearly two weeks ago, said that the US president reached out Wednesday night to schedule a call.
“We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two,” Carney said.
Carney said that Trump has to respect Canada’s sovereignty. “That’s not much to ask, but apparently it’s a lot for him,” he said.
Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and continues to call for the United States’ northern neighbor to become the 51st US state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
“It is clear that the United States is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible the negotiations that, with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back,” Carney said. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere.”
The former central banker was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on March 14. It’s unusual for a US president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada’s leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign after calling an early election for April 28.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canada’s sovereignty. The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment.
Trump has acknowledged himself that he has upended Canadian politics.
Carne called the tariffs unjustified and left the election campaign to chair his special Cabinet committee on US relations in Ottawa. He said many Canadians are feeling worried and anxious about the future.
He said over the coming years Canadians must fundamentally reimagine the economy in a drastically different world. More than 75 percent of Canada’s exports go to the US
“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” he said.
Carney is asking Canadians for a clear and strong mandate given “the biggest crisis in our lifetimes.”
Automobiles are Canada’s second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
Carney announced this week a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) “strategic response fund” that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump’s tariffs.
Trump previously had granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers.
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-US border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Trump previously placed 25 percent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
The president has plunged the US into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
“This is not an industry that is Donald Trump’s to steal or take,” said Lana Payne, the National President of Unifor, the union that represents auto workers in Canada.
Payne said that Carney should tell Trump that if US automakers are going to sell cars and trucks in Canada, they are going to have to build in Canada.