--- title: Why Canada's Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump description: The PM is navigating his role as a diplomat and statesman—not a politician on the campaign trail, writes David Moscrop. canonical: https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/ author: David Moscrop article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-08T10:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:52:09.164Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump og:description: The Canadian PM is navigating his role as a diplomat and statesman—not a politician on the campaign trail, writes David Moscrop. og:url: https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b057f63c2f1e18e/6998c674d32e93be97cd6fb7/GettyImages-2213749567.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Carney To The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump twitter:description: The Canadian PM is navigating his role as a diplomat and statesman—not a politician on the campaign trail, writes David Moscrop. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b057f63c2f1e18e/6998c674d32e93be97cd6fb7/GettyImages-2213749567.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Canada's Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump > Sponsored content. 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Sitting next to President Donald Trump, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney got the clip he wanted Canadians to see: him telling Trump that Canada is “not for sale.” But over the course of the 33-minute exchange in front of reporters in the freshly gilded Oval Office, Carney had to wait patiently as Trump repeatedly made lengthy pitches for why Canada should be the US’s 51st state._ by [David Moscrop](https://time.com/author/david-moscrop/) ## David Moscrop Contributor David Moscrop is an Ottawa-based columnist, podcast host, and author. May 8, 2025 10:00 AM UTC Sitting next to President Donald Trump, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney got the clip he wanted Canadians to see: him telling Trump that Canada is “not for sale.” But over the course of the 33-minute exchange in front of reporters in the freshly gilded Oval Office, Carney had to wait patiently as Trump repeatedly made lengthy pitches for why Canada should be the US’s 51st state. by [David Moscrop](https://time.com/author/david-moscrop/) ## David Moscrop Contributor David Moscrop is an Ottawa-based columnist, podcast host, and author. May 8, 2025 10:00 AM UTC Canada waited with [baited breath](https://time.com/7282848/trump-carney-canada-visit/) as [Prime Minister Mark Carney](https://time.com/7281123/mark-carney-wins-canada-election-liberals/) stepped foot in the Oval Office on Tuesday in a [meeting for the ages](https://time.com/7283200/canada-not-for-sale-carney-tells-trump/). Barely a week earlier, Carney, who had vowed to fight back against Donald Trump’s taunts and threats to make Canada the “51st state,” [resurrected his Liberal Party](https://time.com/7271162/canada-election-trump-carney-poilievre/) against a [MAGA-like opponent](https://time.com/7280859/canada-poilievre-election-trump/) in a stunning 25-point election turnaround. Trump knew this. He opened the meeting by [saying](https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/read-the-transcription-of-carney-and-trumps-white-house-meeting/) it was a “great honor” to have Carney visit. Then, he pivoted to himself. “As you know, he won a very big election in Canada, _and I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him_. His party was losing by a lot, and he ended up winning. So, I really want to congratulate him. It was probably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of politics, maybe even greater than mine.” Early on, Trump struck a tone of, if not friendship, then at least something approaching the boundaries of bare respect. Memories of the [ambush](https://time.com/7263232/kyiv-pride-fear-after-zelensky-confronts-trump/) on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were still fresh. “This is very friendly, this is not going to be like … we had another little blow up with somebody else. That was a much different … this is a very friendly conversation.” A nation heaved a sigh of relief. The matter isn’t a mere issue of national pride or vanity, though that’s part of it. Trump has conceded that the use of military force to annex Canada is “[highly unlikely](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-using-us-military-annex-030137396.html),” but he still has the power to scupper $1 trilliona year in trade. **Read More:** [_How Canada Got Hooked on the U.S. Economy_](https://time.com/7225251/canada-dependent-us-economy-tariffs-trump/) During the election, Carney ran against Trump as much as he did his Conservative opponent Pierre Poilievre. The Liberals flogged the slogan “Canada Strong” and the nationalist rallying cry “[elbows up](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/18/elbows-up-canada-gordie-howe-hockey/82525433007/).” Carney vowed not to meet Trump until the President respected Canadian sovereignty. Trump, he [warned](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/29/first-thing-carney-says-trump-is-trying-to-break-us-after-liberals-win-canadian-election), is “trying to break us, so America can own us.” He was far more conciliatory on Tuesday. Carney is now a diplomat and statesman, not a politician on the hustings. “You’re a transformational President,” he said of Trump, “focused on the economy, with a relentless focus on the American worker, securing your borders, ending the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids, and in securing the world.” It was, as some put iton social media, an “[elbows down](https://x.com/stephen%5Ftaylor/status/1919796020667437187)” moment. Carney avoided taking the bait for much of the meeting. Trump spoke most of the time; the Prime Minister sat there, letting the President hold court. Later, in private, during a working lunch, Carney would work on setting an agenda to renegotiate the trade relationship and, hopefully, take steps toward reducing the number or rate of tariffs. As expected, the issue of making Canada the “cherished” 51st state arose. North of the 49th parallel, that’s a non-starter, to put it mildly. Here, Carney was prepared. “Well, if I may, as you know, from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” he said. “We’re sitting in one now,” he added, in reference to the White House. Trump nonetheless pressed the matter with a “never say never;” Carney then [mouthed the word “never”](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/06/trump-carney-meeting-takeaways-canada-us) five times. But that was it. In a post-meeting press conference at the Canadian embassy, Carney said there was a “concrete path forward” for the two, a mutual desire to move forward with discussion on trade and other matters. He called the negotiations “complex.” When asked about his previous, more confrontational comments about Trump, Carney dodged the question. Carney has made a quick transformation from campaigner to, if you’ll pardon the term, governor. The White House visit was not so much “elbows down” as it was “watch your elbows.” But he is softening his line on Trump nonetheless. Carney and his team recognize that there’s a line to walk, a dance to dance. They get that dealing with Trump to his face is harder than talking about dealing with a mercurial, mercantilist U.S. President in front of a sympathetic homefront. The alternative is going toe-to-toe, alone, against the global hegemon and its intransigent President. That would be a herculean, and foolish, undertaking for any nation—and certainly Canada and its rookie Prime Minister. ## Transcript [00:00] You have said that Canada should become the 51st state? [00:04] No, no. Well, I still believe that, but. [00:06] But, you know, it takes two to tango, [00:08] right? But no, I do. [00:10] I mean, I believe it would be a massive tax cut for the Canadian citizens. [00:15] You get free military, [00:17] you get tremendous medical care and other things. [00:21] There would be a lot of advantages, [00:24] but it would be it would be a massive tax cut. [00:27] And it's also a beautiful you know, [00:29] as a real estate developer, you know, [00:30] I'm a real estate developer at heart. [00:32] When you get rid of that artificially drawn line, [00:34] somebody drew that line many years ago with like a ruler, [00:37] just a straight line right across the top of the country. [00:40] When you look at that beautiful formation, [00:43] when it's together, I'm a very artistic person. [00:46] But when I looked at that beauty, [00:48] I said, that's the way it was meant to be. [00:50] But, you know, it's I just I do feel it's much better for Canada. [00:55] But we're not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it. [00:59] I think that there are tremendous benefits to the Canadian citizens. [01:04] Tremendously lower taxes, free military, [01:07] which honestly, we give you essentially anyway because we're protecting Canada. [01:10] If you ever had a problem. [01:12] But I think, you know, it's, uh, [01:15] it would really be a wonderful marriage because [01:18] it's it's two places they get along very well. [01:20] They like each other a lot. [01:22] Well, if I may, um, [01:25] as you know from real estate, [01:27] there are some places that are never for sale. [01:29] That's true. We're sitting in one right now. [01:31] You know Buckingham Palace that you visited as well. That's true. [01:34] And having met with the owners of [01:37] Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, [01:40] it's not for sale. [01:42] Won't be for sale, ever. [01:44] But the opportunity is in the partnership and the. [01:48] And what we can build together. [01:49] And we have done that in the past. [01:50] And part of that is the president just said is with respect to our own security. [01:56] They have, I must say, [01:59] Canada is stepping up the military participation because Mark knew, [02:05] you know, they were low and now they're stepping it up. [02:07] And that's a very important thing. [02:09] But never say never. Never say never. [02:13] Make it more difficult when you consider what Mr. Carney just said, [02:17] that Canada is not for sale. [02:19] Does this make the discussion a little more difficult to start on? [02:22] No, not at all. No, not at all. [02:24] No time. Time will tell. [02:26] It's only time. But I say never say never. [02:30] I've had many, many things that were not doable. [02:32] And they ended up being doable and only doable in a very friendly way. [02:36] But if it if it's to everybody's benefit, [02:39] you know, Canada loves us and we love Canada. [02:42] That's I think the number one thing that's important. [02:45] But we'll see. I mean over time we'll see what happens. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/"},"headline":"Why Canada's Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump","datePublished":"2025-05-08T10:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:52:09.164Z","description":"The Canadian PM is navigating his role as a diplomat and statesman—not a politician on the campaign trail.","url":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/","keywords":["world affairs","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b057f63c2f1e18e/6998c674d32e93be97cd6fb7/GettyImages-2213749567.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Moscrop","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/david-moscrop/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b057f63c2f1e18e/6998c674d32e93be97cd6fb7/GettyImages-2213749567.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Carney To The White House","caption":"President Trump Welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Carney To The White House","creditText":"Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/world-affairs/","name":"world affairs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/","name":"Why Canada's Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Canada ‘Not For Sale,’ Carney tells Trump, Who Responds With ‘Never Say Never’","description":"Sitting next to President Donald Trump, Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney got the clip he wanted Canadians to see: him telling Trump that Canada is “not for sale.” But over the course of the 33-minute exchange in front of reporters in the freshly gilded Oval Office, Carney had to wait patiently as Trump repeatedly made lengthy pitches for why Canada should be the US’s 51st state.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mHHfAVGY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-05-06T17:56:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mHHfAVGY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/","duration":"PT2M51S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7283467/carney-trump-us-canada-relationship/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```