![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/250711-donald-trump-mark-carney-se-1036a-aa6d83.jpg\")
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump arrive for a family photo during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 16, 2025. Geoff Robins \/ AFP – Getty Images file<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump is really worried about the U.S. continuing to drift in the Western Hemisphere and is focused on this,\u201d one of the officials said.<\/p>\n
The current U.S. officials said there is not discussion of stationing American troops on the ground along Canada\u2019s northern border. And unlike with Greenland, Trump is not seeking to purchase Canada or saying he might take it by U.S. military force, the senior administration official and current and former U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s intensifying private focus on Canada, whose relationship with the U.S. has been deeply strained, comes as he transforms some of his longtime criticisms of America\u2019s neighbors in the Western Hemisphere into actions aimed at expanding U.S. power in the region.<\/p>\n
He began this year by using the U.S. military to oust the leader of Venezuela and facilitate a U.S. takeover of the country\u2019s oil industry. His administration has similarly threatened the regime in Cuba. He\u2019s warned Colombia and Mexico of possible U.S. intervention to stem the flow of drugs from their countries. And he\u2019s repeatedly said his administration plans to acquire Greenland \u2014 through a purchase or military force \u2014 setting off a scramble among U.S. allies to negotiate a deal to ease his concerns.<\/p>\n
Protecting Canada\u2019s northern border is a key part of Trump and his top aides\u2019 vision of \u201csolidifying\u201d the Western Hemisphere, as one of the U.S. officials put it, so it aligns with the U.S. Trump on Saturday suggested<\/a> a U.S. acquisition of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, would also benefit Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, this is to stop Russia and China from having a further presence in the Arctic,\u201d the senior administration official said. \u201cCanada stands to benefit from the U.S. having Greenland.\u201d <\/p>\n Canada’s public position is that Greenland’s fate is up to Greenland and Denmark. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said <\/a>Friday that Canada stands behind Denmark as a NATO ally.<\/p>\n Asked about the president\u2019s recent renewed focus on Canada behind closed doors, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that an executive order<\/a> Trump signed last April \u201cunderscores the United States\u2019 commitment to ensuring both freedom of navigation and American dominance in the Arctic waterways.\u201d<\/p>\n The Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond with a comment.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s criticism of Canada dates back to his first term. Last year, it reached a fever pitch, as he threatened to use \u201ceconomic force\u201d<\/a> to take the country and transform it from America\u2019s northern neighbor to the 51st state. Trump sparked a trade war<\/a> with Canada and openly sparred with its government. More recently, those public tensions have simmered.<\/p>\n Privately, amid Trump\u2019s increasing complains, U.S. officials are pursuing talks with Canadian officials about ways to increase cooperation between their militaries in the Arctic, the senior administration official and the current and former U.S. officials said. The options being discussed include updating systems in Canada that provide early warnings that an adversary is getting close to the country\u2019s territory or waters, more joint U.S. and Canadian military training and operations, and increasing joint air and water patrols as well as American ship patrols in the Arctic, the current U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n The current officials said there is not a discussion of stationing U.S. troops on the ground along Canada\u2019s northern border.<\/p>\n One venue for discussions between the U.S. and Canada is a Pentagon working group focused on the Arctic, which has warned the White House that Canada\u2019s exposure to China and Russia along its northern border is among the biggest issues facing the U.S. in the region, the current and former U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n Canadian Prime Minister Carney was in Beijing this past week, where he referenced \u201cthe new world order\u201d<\/a> while trying to strengthen ties<\/a> with China amid Canada\u2019s tensions with the U.S. Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.<\/p>\n Trump was asked Friday about Carney cutting a trade deal with China and said that\u2019s \u201ca good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what he should be doing,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf you can get a deal with China, you should do that.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Trump\u2019s top criticisms of Canada has been the amount the country spends on defense, which he has repeated privately in recent days, according to the senior administration official and current and former U.S. officials. They said from Trump\u2019s perspective, that means Canada can\u2019t defend against China or Russia in the Arctic.<\/p>\n \u201cThey certainly need to up their game when it comes to Arctic capabilities,\u201d one of the officials said, adding that \u201cthis is not acceptable given today\u2019s threats\u201d and \u201cthe status quo is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n