Carney and Trump are holding private talks to drop tariffs

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 2:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 5

Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are having discussions retired of the spotlight to scope a commercialized woody and assistance tariffs.

Sources with cognition of the conversations archetypal confirmed the calls with CBC/Radio-Canada and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly aboriginal told reporters that Carney and Trump are talking to each other.

A source, who spoke on the information they not beryllium named, said the 2 leaders have had a fewer telephone calls successful the evenings and exchanged substance messages astir commercialized since Carney's sojourn to the White House past month. 

There person been nary nationalist readouts of the talks betwixt Carney and Trump.

Sources said the conversations are aimed astatine reaching an statement connected the commercialized warfare launched by the U.S. against Canada.

Carney and Trump person talked openly astir a tendency to chart a caller economical and information deal, but the Canada-U.S. narration appeared to deed a snag earlier this week erstwhile Trump doubled tariffs connected each alloy and aluminum imports.

The tariffs, present astatine 50 per cent, are a further stroke to the Canadian industries that are the U.S.'s biggest supplier of the metals.

On Wednesday, Carney lone said "intensive discussions" were ongoing and that his authorities was readying reprisals if negotiations with the United States failed. 

Sources told CBC/Radio-Canada they are hoping for immoderate benignant of Canada-U.S. commercialized woody by the clip Trump and Carney conscionable astatine the G7 acme — conscionable 10 days from present in Alberta.

Asked Thursday however adjacent the 2 sides are to a deal, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he's not talking astir it publicly. 

WATCH | Joly confirms Carney and Trump are talking: 

Speaking successful French, Joly confirmed determination person been talks and said it's mean during a trade war to person diplomatic discussions.

"We won't negociate successful public," she added successful English. "We'll fto the premier curate bash his work."

A White House spokesperson told CBC News that Trump was "directly" progressive successful talks with Canada, but didn't notation Carney specifically.

"Talks with Canada proceed astir trade, borderline information and defence matters. Any woody announcements, however, volition travel from President Trump himself," spokesperson Kush Desai said successful a statement.

An authoritative with the U.S. embassy said "both the president and premier minister, oregon members of their teams, person publically acknowledged that determination are ongoing conversations. But this is not thing that volition beryllium negotiated successful public." 

WATCH | Canadian exports to U.S. are dropping: 

Trump's envoy to Canada, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, told a assemblage earlier this week successful Toronto the woody "is being settled astatine the highest levels of the U.S. authorities with the engagement of the highest elected officials." 

The nonstop conversations betwixt Carney and Trump were archetypal reported by the Globe and Mail. 

Carney, who campaigned connected the committedness he'd instrumentality connected Trump, has been nether unit to respond to the president's latest tariff salvo.

The Canadian Steel Producers Association called the doubled tariffs a "crushing blow" to the manufacture and said the determination efficaciously blocks Canadian alloy from entering the U.S. market. The relation wants to spot contiguous counter-tariffs connected U.S. metals.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said he's successful regular talks with the premier minister, called for retaliation if an statement can't beryllium reached "in the adjacent fewer days."

"Let's anticipation they get a deal. But if they don't, let's travel retired guns ablazing," he told reporters Thursday astatine Queen's Park.