KANANASKIS, ALTA. — Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump agreed Monday to speed up efforts to forge a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, setting a target of 30 days to get a deal done.

They “discussed immediate trade pressures and priorities for each country’s workers and businesses, and shared updates on key issues raised in negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S.,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a summary of the bilateral meeting that kicked off the G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis, Alta.

Here’s what else you need to know.

Talking trade: The global trade war was always going to be the unseen backdrop as G7 and European Union leaders met this week in the Canadian Rockies, even if it was not on the host government’s official list of priorities. 

On Monday, Trump said out loud what everyone was thinking and put the issue on centre stage. “I think our primary focus will be trade, and trade with Canada,” he said after meeting one-on-one with Carney for about half an hour. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

The readout from the PMO issued later Monday said Carney and Trump also spoke about working together on other issues considered priorities at the G7 summit, such as critical minerals, border security—including illegal drugs—and defence.

Deal or no deal? Carney shared little about the pair’s closed-door meeting at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, instead welcoming Trump to Canada and praising the leadership role the United States plays in the G7. His staff then tried to usher media brought in for a photo op out of the room. Trump, however, decided to answer questions shouted by reporters for about five minutes, until Carney stepped in and had everyone leave.

When asked what stood in the way of the two countries reaching a deal, Trump said: “I think we have different concepts. I have a tariff concept. Mark has a different concept.”

“I’m a tariff person, I’ve always been a tariff person,” he continued. “It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s precise, and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good.”

The two last met on May 6 at the White House, but there have since been high-level talks between their governments, especially between U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whom Carney tapped to lead the Canada-U.S. trade file. LeBlanc was among the Canadians who joined Carney and Trump on Monday for a wider bilateral meeting that lasted about 40 minutes. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were among those accompanying Trump. LeBlanc later said he and Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., had a follow-up meeting with Greer and other American officials after the leaders were done. They agreed to meet again this week.

‘Not there yet’: Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., said Ottawa has seen signs in recent meetings that the Trump administration better understands Canada’s position. “But we are not there yet,” she told reporters Monday at a news conference hours before the PMO shared the 30-day timeline. She said Trump is convinced that imposing tariffs will help achieve his goals, such as bringing manufacturing back to U.S. soil. Canadian representatives, meanwhile, are trying to convince the president and his officials that tariffs are “detrimental to his overall goals,” she said. “This takes time. It takes a lot of data. It takes a lot of facts.”

No tariffs wanted: The agreement Trump reached with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month maintains a baseline 10 per cent U.S. tariff on U.K. goods. Hillman said Canada wants a different outcome. “Our position is that we should have no tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States,” she said. Still, Hillman stressed that the discussion is not over: “We will continue to talk until we find a deal that is the best deal we can achieve for Canada.”

The threat: Hillman and LeBlanc were asked whether Trump mentioned his desire to annex Canada or referred to the sovereign country as the 51st state. Neither directly answered. Hillman said Trump was “respectful” of both Carney and Canada. LeBlanc said: “We’re not going to go into the private details of the conversation.”

Wrong guy: During the photo op, Trump bemoaned the 2014 decision to suspend Russia from what was then the Group of Eight over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He called that “a mistake” and blamed the move on former U.S. president Barack Obama and former prime minister Justin Trudeau, although the decision was made when Stephen Harper was prime minister.

Asked whether China should be at the table, Trump said: “It’s not a bad idea. I don’t mind that,” he said, adding: “You want to have people that you can talk to.”

Symbolism: Trump showed up to the meeting wearing a lapel pin of both the Canadian and American flags. (He wore a second pin featuring the “Stars and Stripes” alone.) Emily Williams, a spokesperson for Carney, told reporters the pin was not in the welcome basket Trump received, suggesting he chose it.

Across the pond: Canada and the United Kingdom are set to resume trade negotiations after Carney and Starmer agreed to set up a working group to explore deepening the countries’ economic ties. The panel is to report back within six months. Canada and the U.K. struck a temporary bilateral deal after Brexit severed the U.K. from Canada’s wider agreement with the EU, but talks for a permanent deal broke down in January 2024. They were expected to pick up again, as Trump’s tariffs have prompted both countries to diversify their trading partners. Canada exported about $29.5 billion worth of goods to the U.K. in 2024 and imported nearly $10 billion. 

The Prime Minister’s Office said the leaders agreed to co-operate in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and biomanufacturing, critical minerals and nuclear energy projects. The PMO also said Canada would introduce legislation this fall to ratify the U.K.’s membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the U.K. joined last year.

This story was updated to add more details from the meeting between Mark Carney and Donald Trump.