Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office says he and U.S. President Donald Trump directed their teams to conclude work on making “material progress” on steel, aluminum and energy trade in “the coming weeks” after their meeting in Washington.
Wednesday’s readout of Carney’s visit to the U.S. capital came after Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who accompanied Carney and is leading the U.S. trade negotiations, told reporters Tuesday that the goal was to “quickly land deals” on those sectors that have been hit by tariffs.
“The Prime Minister and the President welcomed the progress achieved to date in building a new economic and security relationship between their nations,” the readout from Carney’s office said.
“The leaders identified opportunities for material progress in trade in steel, aluminum, and energy, and directed their teams to conclude this work in the coming weeks.”
Story continues below advertisement
A government source told Global News that Carney raised the possibility of revisiting the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline in the context of potential energy co-operation during his closed-door meeting with Trump, in exchange for progress on steel and aluminum tariffs.
The readout added Carney and Trump also discussed “opportunities to cooperate in defence and focused on their shared efforts to bolster Arctic security.”
Speaking virtually late Wednesday at the Eurasia Group’s U.S.-Canada Summit in Toronto, Carney said the goal was to find “the right balance” in a trading relationship that has become “transactional.”
“I would say what’s open is around certain things in aerospace, defence and other elements where there’s parts of those sectors where (we’re) absolutely aligned and we’re stronger (together),” he said. “There’s other parts where it’s less clear.”
1:43
Takeaways from Carney’s meeting with Trump at White House
Carney travelled to Washington for Tuesday’s White House meeting under increasing pressure to reach a deal with Trump.
Story continues below advertisement
His office and LeBlanc had played down the possibility of leaving D.C. with a deal in hand, noting they were seeking agreements on sectors including steel, aluminum, autos and lumber that are facing steep tariffs under U.S. national security provisions.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
LeBlanc said after the meeting that he and his U.S. counterparts had been directed to “quickly” secure deals on steel, aluminum and energy.
He did not set a timeline for those initial deals but said further talks were expected as soon as Tuesday evening.
More on Politics
More videos
“The conversation between the two leaders left us very much with the sense that there’s a desire to see how we can — starting with the steel and aluminum sectors — structure something that would be in the economic and security interests of both countries,” he said.
“People understandably want to see the results, and believe me, so do we. We’re going to continue that work.”
LeBlanc said on social media Wednesday that he will be in Washington “over the coming days” to continue those talks.
He said Tuesday that deals on steel and aluminum will pave the way for agreements for other sectors like automobiles, which are still being negotiated.
On Wednesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in his own virtual address to the U.S.-Canada Summit that the White House has taken the position of “America first, Canada second” when it comes to automaking, according to sources in the room for the closed-door event.
Trending Now
Canada Post union to meet with minister behind changes to mail carrier
Canada Post strike: Union, minister to meet amid pressure to ‘sort it out’
Story continues below advertisement
That tone was harsher than the one both Trump and Carney presented in Tuesday’s meeting in front of reporters, where they talked about balancing competition with cooperation. Trump suggested “formulas” were being worked on, but did not elaborate.
Carney noted in his Wednesday address that while he’s of the view that “you need” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade (CUSMA) to ensure the American auto industry remains globally competitive, “not everyone shares that view at this time.”
“So that’s a real discussion, and we’ll see there,” he added.
The trade pact is up for a scheduled review next year, with public consultations already underway to help inform those negotiations.
Carney said it’s likely there will be “some bilateral deals” negotiated alongside CUSMA, but that they won’t be “an either-or necessarily.”
The meeting with Trump dominated question period in the House of Commons on Wednesday, with Conservatives taking particular aim at Carney’s comment in the Oval Office that Canadian private sector investment in the U.S. could reach $1 trillion in the next five years if Canada gets “the deal that we expect to get.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused Carney of abandoning auto workers who are losing jobs in Ontario as plants close down and move to the U.S., to which Carney said Canada was continuing to negotiate down tariffs he insisted are lower than what other countries face.
Story continues below advertisement
“We are still negotiating because, as the president said yesterday, the Prime Minister of Canada is a tough negotiator,” Carney said. “We will get the right deal for autoworkers.”
“Mr. Speaker, give me $1 trillion, and even I will say something nice about this guy,” Poilievre shot back.
Carney also met with the top Republican and Democrat senators on the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee while in Washington, and had dinner with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, the PMO readout said.
“As senators from states who share a border with Canada, we welcome renewed bilateral dialogue in the best interests of the Canadian and American people,” a joint statement from Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said.
Carney said Canada is focused on creating “new opportunities” for shared collaboration with the U.S. while understanding “there are areas where our nations can compete,” according to his office.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.