President Donald Trump says he has had an “extremely productive call” with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney amid a spike in tensions and an escalating trade war between the United States and its northern neighbour.
In a social media post describing the call on Friday, the US president sounded conciliatory towards Canada. Notably, Trump referred to the Canadian leader by his correct title as prime minister after months of calling Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau “governor”.
“I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada,” Trump wrote.
“It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada.”
While the statement lacked specifics, it marked a change in tone from Trump’s threats and hostile rhetoric towards Canada, which included repeated calls for the US to annex the country and make it its 51st state.
Friday’s talks were the first between the two leaders since Carney succeeded Trudeau two weeks ago.
The call came less than 24 hours after Carney forcefully rebuked Trump for increasing tariffs on Canadian goods. The US president had announced 25-percent levies on foreign cars, starting on Wednesday.
