Toronto/CMEDIA: Talks between the U.S. and Canada reportedly for an economic and security deal have intensified in recent weeks.
In response to Trump’s claims that the decades-old Canada-U.S. relationship is “over,” Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney has frequently said that a new economic and security relationship between the two countries remains possible.
“We’re all on the same page. We’re fighting for Canada, we’re fighting for industry, making sure that they understand that this is damaging on both sides of the border,” speaking to reporters on his way into a caucus meeting Wednesday morning, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly confirmed last week that Carney and Trump have been in direct talks in recent weeks, with readouts of those calls not being made public.
“I think that is a risk,” Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said, when asked whether a deal in the traditional sense is possible with Trump, considering the president’s tariffs contravene the existing trade pact he signed during his first term. “I think what Trump wants more than anything else is to be able to announce that he’s got a deal that solves the problem. Now, whether it does or not is anybody’s guess.”
“I think it’s premature, based on the speculation to break out the champagne,” Bolton also said.
It was announced Monday by Carney that he plans to boost spending to finally meet the NATO target of spending two percent of GDP on defence this year.
