What will Trump and Carney discuss?published at 16:49 BST
16:49 BST
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
Image source, Getty Images
US and White House officials have been largely quiet about today’s meeting, saying only that it will focus on bilateral issues, particularly trade and tariffs.
There is, however, another issue pending between the two countries: the futuristic “Golden Dome” missile defence system. Formally unveiled by Trump in May, the system is aimed at countering “next-generation” aerial threats to the US, including ballistic and cruise missiles.
In his May announcement, Trump said he asked Canada to be a part of the system, something which then-Canadian defence minister Bill Blair had earlier this year said “makes sense” and is in Canada’s “national interest”.
But so far, Canadian participation in the programme has not progressed beyond talks, and just last week Trump told a high-profile gathering of US military generals that Canada had contacted him to say “they want to be a part of it”.
“To which I said, ‘well, why don’t you just join our country? You become the 51st state and you get it for free’,” he said.
Experts say that Canadian participation in the programme is not just beneficial for bothcountries, but crucial for it to work.
“It would be really difficult to have an effective and credible Golden Dome without Canada being part of that,” says Robert Peters, the former head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and now an expert at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation.
“A lot of potential missile launches – whether ballistic missiles or long-range cruise missiles – would be coming over the North Pole,” he adds.