Trump respects Canada's sovereignty in call with Canadian Premier Carney

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that US President Donald Trump "respected Canada's sovereignty" during a call between the two leaders.

Saying that their discussion was constructive and aimed at advancing bilateral ties, Carney said in a news conference in Montreal that "the spirit of the call was both cordial and focused on making progress, and that's why you had several things."

Asked about Trump's repeated comments about making Canada the 51st US state, Carney stated that "the president respected Canada's sovereignty today, both in his private and public comments."

He noted that both sides agreed to hold a "comprehensive discussion on our broader economic security partnership" and to conduct "intensive discussions between our ministers."

Carney acknowledged a shift in the Canada-US relationship, saying, "We must ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world. The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over."

He noted that the US president did not signal any immediate relief on tariffs during their conversation.

"The president did not indicate a pulling back on the tariffs on autos or steel or aluminum during the call. My response included that, look, this is the start of a process. Part of what's important -- it underscores the importance of more intensive (discussions)," Carney said.

Noting the broader economic shifts under Trump's administration, Carney said: "The president is intending to have a quite significant transformation of the American economy. Repatriate a bunch of activity, necessarily, a number of industries would be restructured. And that will bring some frictions to that economy. Could bring some inflation. It could bring, likely to bring a slowing in growth."

He emphasized that constructive discussions between the two countries would be beneficial for both economies.