Ahlulbayt News Agency: In an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country is "not for sale" and "won't be for sale, ever."
During the meeting on Tuesday, Trump insisted to Carney that it would be a "wonderful marriage" if Canada agreed to his repeated calls to become the 51st US state.
"I still believe that. But it takes two to tango, right?” Trump said, suggesting Canada joining the US would lead to major tax cuts and other benefits for Canadian citizens.
Carney responded, Canada "is not for sale."
"As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.”
Canada, Carney said, "won’t be for sale ever, but the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together."
Relations between Washington and Ottawa have been strained by Trump's tariffs and his remarks about making Canada the 51st state.
Carney said in his victory speech on April 29 that his country’s previous ties with Washington "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over."
Just before Carney’s arrival, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he "cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things?”
He said that the United States doesn’t need “ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain.”
The Trump administration has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, though certain imports covered under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) signed in 2020 are exempt.
In the Oval Office meeting, when asked if Carney can say anything to lift the tariffs on Canada, Trump said, "No. That’s the way it is.”
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