Canada 'not for sale, ever', Carney warns as Trump touts benefits of becoming 51st US state

Summary

Canada's PM Mark Carney says US President Donald Trump is "willing to negotiate" a new trade deal and drop the tariffs following "wide-ranging discussions" at the White House
He adds that Canada and the US are stronger when they work together – but notes Ottawa will work on reinforcing "strength at home" to cope with an increasingly divided world
The Canadian PM says he feels better about Trump's "positioning" towards Canada after their meeting
Carney navigated the meeting with diplomacy and tact – and avoided a "dust up" in the Oval Office, writes the BBC's Bernd Debusmann Jr from the White House

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Carney visits Trump: Key moments from the high-stakes encounter

Live Reporting

Edited by Brandon Livesay in New York and Rorey Bosotti and Emily Atkinson in London

'I expect difficult but constructive discussions' - Carneypublished at 13:09 British Summer Time 6 May
During his first post-election press conference last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked how he would avoid a heated exchange similar to the one Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky experienced during his visit to the Oval Office back in February.
"I go there with the expectation of difficult but constructive discussions, that’s the spirit of the conversations that the president and I had,” he said.
“You got to these meetings well prepared, understanding the objectives of your counterpart and always acting in the best interest of Canada,” he added.
Media caption,
Watch: Carney is asked how he plans to 'avoid an Oval Office ambush'
Trump disliked Trudeau - why Carney may fare betterpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 6 May
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
The victory-party din for Mark Carney and his Liberal Party had only just faded when Donald Trump chimed in with a less than ringing endorsement of the winners.
"It was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least that won," the US president said on Wednesday of Carney, whose party had just retained power by winning a near outright majority of the seats in Canada's general election.
The Canadian prime minister may accept being the lesser of two evils in Trump's mind, however. The US president also said that he thinks the former Bank of England governor "couldn't have been nicer" in the first post-election phone conversation.
The two men are expected to meet at the White House on Tuesday.
For Trump, politics is often personal. His distaste for former prime minister Justin Trudeau was palpable practically from the US president's first day in office in 2017.
Their lengthy, aggressive handshake during their first in-person visit just a few weeks after Trump's inauguration foreshadowed what would be a long and trying relationship.
It was punctuated by passive-aggressive jabs, snide comments and, upon Trump's return to the White House, the president's derisive reference to "Governor Trudeau" and repeated talk of turning Canada into America's "cherished 51st state".
Trump's annexation talk continued even after Trudeau was replaced by Carney, but the temperature has seemed to drop somewhat, as the smooth international banker with a Harvard and Oxford pedigree replaced the younger, boyishly good looking Trudeau.
- Read more of Anthony's analysis here
Carney to meet Trump at White House amid frayed US-Canada tensionspublished at 12:49 British Summer Time 6 May
Image source, EPA
Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House today - just one week after winning the federal election.
Relations between the once close allies have been frayed in the wake of Trump's new tariff regime, as well as his repeated comments about making Canada the 51st US state.
Carney has taken a firm stance against Trump since taking over from his predecessor Justin Trudeau in March, and his election campaign focused heavily on defending Canada’s sovereignty.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC following his win, Carney said his country deserved respect from the US and would only enter trade and security talks with Trump "on our terms".
In a phone call shortly after, during which the US president reportedly congratulated Carney on his recent win, the pair agreed to meet soon.
Canadians, who have spent the last few months on tenterhooks, will be closely following today's meeting.
We'll be bringing you all the latest developments here on this page, so stick with us.