During the first day of the G7 summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Trump held a bilateral meeting, during which they pledged to reach a US-Canada agreement within 30 days.
According to a summary provided by the Canadian Prime Minister’s office regarding the meeting on June 16, Trump and Carney discussed establishing new economic and security relations between the US and Canada, exchanging views on trade pressures and their respective priorities. During the discussions, both leaders committed to reaching a US-Canada agreement within 30 days.
During the bilateral meeting, Trump indicated that reaching an agreement with Canada within a matter of “a few days or a few weeks” is “doable” as long as both parties reach a consensus.
At the same time, Canadian officials expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with the US as soon as possible. Canadian Ambassador to the US, Kirsten Hillman, stated on the 16th that in recent weeks, negotiations between Canada and the US on trade have significantly accelerated.
Hillman said: “We’ve had a lot of productive conversations, especially in recent weeks, deepening each other’s understanding, or I’d say their understanding of us has deepened, and that came out again very much in today’s exchange.”
“We’re feeling really good about the progress that has been made in the past few weeks. It’s a very positive sign,” Hillman added.
Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc also shared a similar outlook, stating on the 16th that progress was made in the bilateral meeting between Trump and Carney, describing the dialogue as “lengthy” and “substantive,” primarily focused on trade issues.
LeBlanc added that US officials, including trade representative Jamieson Greer, agreed to continue discussions this week, with both sides aiming to expedite the agreement.
Hillman emphasized that Canada’s goal is to “remove tariffs, stabilize the situation,” noting that this required explaining to the US President that implementing tariff policies against Canada “would actually hinder his overall objectives.”
Carney’s office stated that Carney and Trump also discussed cooperation on “other shared priorities,” including critical minerals, gun trafficking and drug smuggling, illegal drugs, border security, and potential collaboration in defense.