President Trump will kick off his first day of the Group of Seven summit in Canada with a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney amid tensions between the two countries over trade and Mr. Trump referring to Canada as the 51st state.
Mr. Trump is in Alberta for the G7, which focuses on global issues and comprises the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
The president and the prime minister in May met at the White House, where they discussed trade and tariffs, and Mr. Carney reiterated that Canada is not interested in becoming a state.
Mr. Trump has been especially tough on Canada on trade, saying the U.S. effectively subsidizes its northern neighbor by buying plenty of its goods as Canadians buy less in total value from U.S. producers, resulting in a $63 billion trade deficit in 2024.
Mr. Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian goods that enter the U.S., although many goods are exempt under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Mr. Trump negotiated in his first term.
He argued the tariffs are needed because Canada wasn’t doing enough to stop the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl coming across the border, even though most of the drug’s flow comes from the southern border with Mexico.
Mr. Trump also imposed a 25% tariff on cars and car parts, and doubled a tariff on steel and aluminum imports from 25 to 50%. Those tariffs were a sore point for Canadians, whose auto and metal industries are closely intertwined with U.S. sectors.
Canadians responded to the economic threat by launching a “Buy Canadian” campaign to increase purchases of their goods.
Mr. Carney also rode the wave of economic nationalism and anti-Trump fervor to his surprise victory this year.
During his visit in May, Mr. Carney said Canada “won’t be for sale ever.”
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,” Mr. Carney said. “We’re sitting in one right now, you know Buckingham Palace, you visited as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months — it’s not for sale, won’t be for sale ever.”
“The opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together. We have done that in the past,” he said.
Mr. Trump responded, “Never say never.”
The Canadian leader was the 12th visit from a world leader during Mr. Trump’s second term.
He said after his White House visit that “there will be zigs and zags” in the relationship with the U.S., he said he felt there were signs of a “broader and healthy relationship.”
“We have a lot more work to do. I’m not trying to suggest at any respect that we can have one meeting and everything is changed,” he said, “but now we’re engaged.”
• Thomas Howell contributed to this story.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.