Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday said he will be meet with U.S. President Donald Trump next week in Washington, D.C.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa for the first time since his Liberal Party won a minority in the House of Commons, Carney said he and Trump would discuss moving forward on Canada-U.S. relations.
“Our focus will be on both immediate trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations,” Carney said.
He added, “My government will fight to get the best deal for Canada. We will take all the time necessary, but not more, in order to do so.”
Carney said Ottawa would continue to talk trade with other trading partners as well.
“In parallel, we will strengthen our relationships with reliable trading partners and allies. Canada has what the world needs, and we uphold the values the world respects,” he said.
Carney also promised to make big changes to usher in the “biggest transformation of our economy since the Second World War.”
He said Canada would move to remove interprovincial trade barriers by July 1, a move that is expected to boost Canada’s GDP significantly.
He also said his promise of a middle class income tax cut would come by July 1.
No formal deal with the NDP
Carney said he would not seek a formal governing agreement with the NDP.
“We campaigned on a very clear set of objectives, very clear policies to back those up and we received the highest number of votes in Canadian history. Yes, it is not quite a majority, but the highest number of votes,” he said.
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When asked if he would pursue a formal deal with the NDP, Carney said: “No. Short answer, no.”
Monday’s election left the Liberals three seats short of a majority, meaning they will need at least three MPs from other parties in order to pass any legislation or survive confidence votes.
The NDP signed a supply-and-confidence agreement with the minority Liberal government led by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2022. The pact assured the NDP would get its priority legislation passed in exchange for keeping the minority Liberals in power until 2025.
In September 2024, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the agreement.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lost the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton that he had held for 20 years in Monday’s election. Carney said he would ensure a by-election is held as soon as possible if the Conservatives choose to have another Conservative step down from the seat that they won in order to give Poilievre another chance to win a seat.
“I’ve already indicated to Mr. Poilievre that if it’s the decision of him and the Conservative Party to trigger a by-election, I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible,” Carney said.
Elections Canada shows the Liberal party won 168 seats, down one from the total on Monday, after a validation process showed the winner in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne was the Bloc Québécois.
The Conservative party won 144 seats, while the Bloc Québécois holds 23, the NDP has seven and the Green Party has one.
In the days since the election Carney has spent time speaking to multiple international leaders including King Charles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Council President Antonio Costa and Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres.
–With files from Canadian Press
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