President Donald Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney got off to a rocky—and memorable—start Tuesday, as the two leaders clashed over trade, tariffs, and Trump’s longstanding suggestion that Canada would make a fine 51st state.
Carney, who replaced Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau after a decisive April election, wasted no time drawing a line in the snow. “Canada is not for sale,” he told Trump in the Oval Office, responding to Trump’s past musings about a North American political union. “And that is not going to change.”
Trump, smiling, replied with a quip that immediately set social media ablaze: “Never say never.”
The president later elaborated on the idea, describing the US-Canada border as an “artificial line” and suggesting that a political merger could result in “massive tax cuts” for Canadians. “When you look at that beautiful formation [on a map] when it’s together — I’m a very artistic person — but when I looked at that, I said, ‘That’s the way it was meant to be,’” Trump said.
He clarified that no formal talks were planned but said the concept of a union would be “a wonderful marriage” because of the two countries’ shared values and longstanding friendship.
The light banter quickly gave way to harder edges as the conversation turned to trade policy.
Trump had previewed his aggressive stance on tariffs earlier that day in a Truth Social post. “Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things?” he wrote, before taking a direct shot at Canada’s economic reliance on the U.S.: “We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship.”
Carney appeared visibly frustrated as Trump doubled down on tariffs, making clear that no deal was in the cards. When asked by a reporter if anything Carney said during their meetings could convince him to change course, Trump was blunt: “No. That’s just the way it is.”
The exchange capped off a whirlwind start to Carney’s premiership and signaled that while diplomatic relations remain intact, economic tensions are set to escalate. Trump has made it clear he views Canada as taking advantage of U.S. generosity—especially in trade—and isn’t backing down from using tariffs as leverage.
For Carney, a globalist economist and former central banker, the confrontation marks a stark introduction to Trump-era power politics, where hardline negotiating replaces traditional diplomacy.
Trump’s comments about a potential North American union were mostly brushed off by Canadian media as theatrics, but the deeper message was unmistakable: under Trump, the U.S. is prepared to reevaluate everything—even the borders of its closest ally.
Whether Carney’s declaration that “Canada is not for sale” will hold remains to be seen. But for now, Trump’s “Never say never” remark might be the most talked-about quote north or south of the border.
