Carney says Canada 'not for sale' after Trump pushes 51st state in Oval Office meeting

 Carney says Canada 'not for sale' after Trump pushes 51st state in Oval Office meeting

"Never say never," Trump mused after Carney's comments

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday bluntly told President Donald Trump in the Oval Office that Canada is "not for sale" after Trump repeated his assertion it should become the 51st state.

"As you know from real estate, there are some places that are not for sale. And Canada is not for sale, it will never be for sale," Carney told Trump. "But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together. And we have done that in the past."

Trump, though, still didn't let go of the idea.

"Time will tell. It's only time. But I say never say never," Trump said in the tense exchange. "I've had many, many things that were not doable and they ended up being doable and only doable in a very friendly way."

MORE: Trump keeps talking about making Canada the 51st state. Is he serious?

Carney emphasized Canada's position "is not going to change" on the matter, before pivoting to trade talk.

Trump said there was nothing Carney could say during Tuesday's meeting that would get him to lift the tariffs, which include a 25% levy on Canadian goods that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and other levies on cars, oil, steel and aluminum.

"That's just the way it is," Trump told reporters.

President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House, May 6, 2025, in Washington.

Evan Vucci/AP

Carney, who just won an election to replace Justin Trudeau in no small part because of his anti-Trump platform, tried to persuade Trump that Canada is crucial to the U.S. as one of its biggest trading partners.

"There are much bigger forces involved," Carney said on trade. "And this will take some time in some discussions. And that's why we're here to have those discussions."

After Trump said "we don't do much business with Canada from our standpoint -- they do a lot of business with us," Carney pushed back, saying, "we are the largest client of the United States in in the totality of all the goods. So, we are the largest client of the United States."

The historically friendly relationship between the U.S. and Canada has become strained under Trump due to his tariff war and takeover threat.

One advantage for Carney compared to his predecessor going into Tuesday's meeting was his lack of history with Trump. Trudeau left his post with a bruised relationship with the president, who Trump repeatedly trolled as "governor" rather than prime minister. The two leaders were unable to work out a tariff deal.

MORE: Mark Carney's Liberals win Canada election amid Trump's 51st state comments

Before the back-and-forth over Trump's push to make Canada the 51st state, the two men struck a fairly cordial tone at the start of their Oval Office encounter.

Trump congratulated Carney for his win, saying "Canada chose a very talented person, a very good person."

"This is very friendly," Trump said of their sit-down. "This is not going to be like -- we had another little blowup with somebody else," Trump added, referencing his Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.

President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as he arrives at the White House in Washington, May 6, 2025.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Still, a 25% tariff imposed by Trump remains in place for Canadian goods that are not compliant with the (USMCA) as well as a 10% tariff on Canadian oil imports and 25% tariff on all cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum.

Canada's retaliatory action includes a 25% tariff on vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with USMCA. In March, Canada imposed $21 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs were applied on items like American orange juice, whiskey, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.

Canada also has a lot to lose if Trump follows through with threat to impose 100% tariffs on films produced outside the U.S.

Trump continued to praise USMCA and said the U.S and Canada would have talks coming up over the next year to renegotiate or terminate the deal.

Carney said there were things they'd "have to change" in the agreement.

“It is a basis for a broader negotiation. Some things about it are going to have to change. And part of the way you've conducted these tariffs has taken advantage of existing aspects of USMCA. So it's going to have to change. There's other elements that have come, and that's part of what we're going to discuss,” Carney said.