What started as an ordinary diplomatic go to rapidly become a high-stakes change when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fact-checked US President Donald Trump throughout their first official assembly on the White Home on Tuesday.As cameras rolled within the Oval Workplace, Trump downplayed Canada’s commerce significance to the USA, claiming, “We don’t do a lot enterprise with Canada from our standpoint. They do numerous enterprise with us. We’re at like 4%.” However Carney, calm and composed, stepped in firmly.“Respectfully, Canadians’ view on this isn’t going to alter on the 51st state,” Carney mentioned, referring to his early days in workplace and Trump’s earlier comment about annexing Canada. He continued, “We’re the most important consumer of the USA within the totality of all the products.”As reported by CNN, Trump’s “4%” determine is fake. In actuality, Canada bought about 17% of all US items exports in February and March 2025, in response to official US commerce knowledge—greater than some other nation. In complete, Canada purchased round $440 billion price of US items and companies in 2024, making it the highest vacation spot for American exports, as confirmed by the US commerce consultant.Carney, urgent the purpose additional, highlighted how deeply built-in each nations’ economies are. “We have now an incredible auto sector between the 2 of us. You understand, 50% of a automotive that comes from Canada is American. That’s not like wherever else on this planet,” he mentioned.In accordance with the AP, Carney additionally stood agency on Canada’s sovereignty when Trump floated the concept of annexing Canada. “Some locations are by no means on the market,” he instructed Trump straight. “Canada is certainly one of them. And it gained’t be on the market, ever.” Trump smirked and replied, “By no means say by no means,” to which Carney responded with a quiet however resolute “By no means, by no means, by no means.”Regardless of the stress, Trump appeared to understand Carney’s simple method. “I like this man,” the president mentioned because the assembly wrapped up, a comment that appeared to sign respect greater than irritation.However the session was emblematic of how Oval Workplace conferences have modified beneath Trump. As reported by AP, these occasions have developed from formal photograph ops into unpredictable exchanges the place overseas leaders should select between confrontation and diplomacy.Through the assembly, Trump additionally wandered into unrelated subjects, together with complaints about California’s rail challenge, jabs at Barack Obama’s library, and a sudden announcement to halt bombing in Yemen, leaving Carney visibly uneasy. At one level, the Canadian chief’s lips tightened and his arms remained clasped as he struggled to reinsert the dialog into critical coverage territory.Trump additionally repeated a long-debunked declare, stating that the US was “subsidising Canada to the tune of possibly $200 billion per 12 months.” Nonetheless, the precise US commerce deficit with Canada in 2024 was about $36 billion, removed from Trump’s exaggerated quantity, reported CNN. Even when counting solely items, the hole was round $71 billion, not a subsidy and nowhere close to $200 billion.
