OTTAWA — The day after Liberal Leader Mark Carney said the old economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States was over, he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to start talking about forging a new one.

A ‘very constructive conversation’

A readout from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Carney and Trump “agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election” taking place April 28. Carney repeated this nearly verbatim at a campaign appearance in Montreal later Friday, adding that the negotiations would take place “between our two sovereign countries.”

In the meantime, they agreed that talks between Canada’s International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc (the Liberal incumbent candidate in Beauséjour, N.B.) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “will intensify to address immediate concerns.” The readout also said Carney “would be working hard” during the election campaign “to earn the right to represent Canada in those discussions.”

Earlier on Friday, Trump suggested he expects to deal with the Liberal leader again. “It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” he wrote in a social media post. Notably, Trump did not use the title of “governor” for Carney, or otherwise refer to Canada, a sovereign country, as the 51st state.

More on those ‘immediate concerns’

Canada is facing several layers of tariffs from the U.S., with the greatest level of uncertainty surrounding what could be the most significant threat. The partial reprieve Trump granted Canada from the universal tariffs he linked to fentanyl—10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy products and 25 per cent on all other goods—is due to end April 2. (Trump has repeatedly said so, but the amendment to the executive order that granted carve-outs has no end date.) Trump has started calling April 2 “Liberation Day,” as it is also when he has pledged to impose wide-ranging but still undefined tariffs on an unspecified list of countries. Canada is also bracing for 25 per cent tariffs on autos beginning April 3, as well as on auto parts next month.

Ottawa has prepared another wave of 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $125 billion worth of U.S. goods. That includes livestock, food and some materials used in manufacturing, including wood, as well as consumer products such as candles, cutlery, newspapers and electric guitars. Those counter-tariffs were initially meant to go into effect after a 21-day consultation that began March 4. After Trump granted a temporary carve-out for Canadian goods that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and lowered the duty on potash to 10 per cent, Ottawa said it would delay implementing those counter-tariffs until April 2.

The readout from the PMO also said Carney told Trump that Ottawa would respond with  retaliatory tariffs after the U.S. announces more trade actions on April 2. Canada has other counter-tariffs on nearly $60 billion worth of U.S. products already in place as retaliation for the fentanyl-related tariffs that took effect March 4 and the 25 per cent tariffs Trump imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum beginning March 12.

Carney said he spoke with provincial and territorial premiers on Friday, both to fill them in on his conversation with Trump and hear their views on existing and potential retaliatory moves. B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters on Friday that he shared his concern that Canada’s counter-tariffs would increase the cost of public infrastructure such as highways, bridges and hospitals. 

Just a ‘start’

Asked whether Trump gave him any indication that he would reverse his decision to place tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum or autos, Carney said, “In a word, no.” He also told reporters “this is the start of a process” and stressed the importance of further talks between LeBlanc and Lutnick, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who is seeking re-election in her Montreal-area riding.

The Conservatives respond

Though Trump’s statement assumes Carney will remain prime minister following the election, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is still in contention. At a campaign stop in Nanaimo, B.C., Poilievre said he was glad to hear of Carney’s talk with Trump and hopes to see a change in tone from the U.S. president. He added, “It’s clear that the president would like to keep the Liberals in power.” 

Poilievre’s own message to Trump would be that “true free trade, without tariffs,” would help the U.S. and Canada grow their economies and guard the continent against real threats from abroad, he said. If the Conservatives form government, Poilievre said he would prioritize making Canada more economically independent from the U.S. by cutting the industrial carbon tax, removing the Liberals’ proposed emissions cap on oil and gas, and easing the approval process for energy products.

The China card

Across the Pacific, Beijing has made efforts to woo international investment back to China amid the turmoil in international trade. President Xi Jinping pitched his country as “ideal, safe and promising” to more than 40 global business executives and trade association leaders on Friday, contrasting it with “rising protectionism,” but without mentioning the U.S. or Trump by name.

An incomplete list of participants at the meeting with Xi published by Bloomberg includes CEOs from major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Sanofi and AstraZeneca; automotive executives from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Toyota; and the head of German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp. These sectors are currently facing existing, upcoming or potentially threatened U.S. tariffs.

With files from Laura Osman