Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday his administration stands ready to sign a trade agreement with the United States so long as any pact delivers stability and credibility for people and businesses in both countries.
Speaking to reporters in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Carney framed the prospective agreement as one that would serve "Canadian workers, families and businesses" while also being "in the interests of American families, American businesses, American consumers," adding, "... we’re ready to sit down and strike that deal when the Americans are ready."
Carney directly addressed recent comments from U.S. officials, rejecting suggestions that Canada walked away from negotiations because of domestic political considerations. In response to a question, he said, "I don’t think, with all respect, appointed, unelected cabinet members in the United States are experts on Canadian politics."
He also described a change in tone from the U.S. side compared with the approach seen during the run-up to the collapse of talks last month. Carney said there had been an "our way or the highway" posture from the United States on several matters right up to the final hours, and that those positions helped precipitate the breakdown. "There were a few issues that the United States was arguing right up to the last hour," he said.
Carney suggested that this inflexibility has moderated. "Now, they’re not," he said, referring to earlier U.S. negotiating stances. He pointed to the inconsistency of pressing for inclusion of particular elements related to Canadian language and culture and then behaving as if those elements did not matter. "So all of a sudden, they don’t care about Canadian language or culture and those elements. Well, if they didn’t care, they shouldn’t have kept them in the deal," he said. "It’s good. We welcome that."
Shortly after Carney’s remarks, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a comment that it was "very good for Canadian Politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney to make President Donald J. Trump ’the enemy.’" In the post, Trump warned that the country’s economy would then collapse and be "Worse than anything that has ever happened to a Canadian politician."
The prime minister’s comments underline Ottawa’s stated objective of achieving a trade arrangement that provides predictability for markets and households while signalling a readiness to re-engage if Washington presents terms that Canada can accept as credible and stable. His remarks also reflect tensions between political rhetoric and negotiation strategy evident since talks broke down.