Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he’s glad no one could tell what he was thinking when he met President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
“I am glad you could not tell what was going through my mind,” Carney told a reporter after she had asked him about his thoughts at the meeting when Trump said he wanted Canada to be a part of the US.
During their meeting, Carney repeatedly told Trump that Canada was not for sale. In addition to threatening and imposing tariffs on Canada, Trump has also talked about adopting Canada as the 51st US state.
“The president has made known his wish about that issue for some time. I have been careful, always, to distinguish between wish and reality,” Carney said at a doorstop interview after his meeting with Trump.
“I was clear there in the Oval Office as I have been clear throughout on behalf of Canadians that this is never gonna happen. Canada is not for sale and never will be for sale,” Carney continued.
Earlier, Carney and Trump held a joint press conference after a meeting at the Oval Office. Trump told reporters he still believes Canada should be the 51st US state, but added that “it takes two to tango.”
“It would really be a wonderful marriage because it’s two places, they get along very well. They like each other a lot,” Trump said.
Carney was seen pursing his lips, but kept his expression neutral as Trump spoke.
“As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one right now. You know, Buckingham Palace, that you visited as well,” Carney said in response to Trump.
“And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale and won’t be for sale ever. But the opportunity is the partnership and what we can build together,” Carney added.
Carney took over as the leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party from his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, in March. Trudeau faced repeated calls to step down after his deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, resigned from his cabinet in December.
The Liberal Party was initially lagging behind its opponents, the Conservative Party, in the polls. But Trump’s aggressive tariffs may well have helped turn the tables.
Trump’s rhetoric and threats sparked nationalistic fervor among Canadians, who boycotted US goods and renewed their support for the Liberal Party. The party was able to form a minority government after it won 169 out of 343 parliamentary seats in the April elections.
“As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, ever happen.” Carney said in his victory speech on April 29.
Representatives for Carney did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
