Sawt Falasteen - Canada 'never for sale', Carney tells Trump

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump insisted to the recently elected Carney that it would be a "wonderful marriage" if Canada agreed to his repeated calls to become the 51st US state.

But Carney brushed off Trump's suggestions, saying: "There are some places that are never for sale ... it's not for sale. It won't be for sale, ever."

The 60-year-old Liberal leader won the Canadian election on a pledge to stand up to Republican Trump, warning that ties between the North American neighbors could never be the same.

Trump, 78, has sparked a major trade war with Canada with his tariffs while repeatedly making extraordinary calls for the key NATO ally and major trading partner to become the 51st US state.

The two leaders began their meeting with warm words, with twice-elected Trump hailing Carney, whose Liberal Pary surged from behind in the polls, for "one of the greatest comebacks in the history of politics, maybe even greater than mine."

But while they expressed a willingness to work towards a trade deal to end the tariffs, it became clear that common ground would be hard to find.

- 'Little blow-up' -

"No. It's just the way it is," Trump said when asked if there was anything Carney could say in the meeting that would persuade him to drop car tariffs in particular.

And when US president mentioned that Canadians might agree to join the United States "over a period of time," Carney raised his hand and interjected.

"Respectfully, Canadians' view on this is not going to change on the 51st state," said Carney.

A visibly tense Trump then referenced his blazing Oval Office row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February -- if only to insist that there would be no repeat.

"We had another little blow-up with somebody else, that was much different -- this is a very friendly conversation," Trump said.

Trump had earlier slammed Canada on Truth Social for effectively freeloading off the United States, just minutes before shaking hands with Carney outside the West Wing.

The meeting was highly anticipated after a Canadian election during which Carney vowed that the United States would never "own us".

Carney has since vowed to remake NATO member Canada's ties with the United States in perhaps its biggest political and economic shift since World War II.

Trump has slapped general tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico and sector-specific levies on autos, some of which have been suspended pending negotiations. He has also imposed similar duties on steel and aluminum.

- 'Important moment' -

The US president inserted himself into Canada's election early on with a social media post saying Canada would face "ZERO TARIFFS" if it "becomes the cherished 51st state."

And he has repeatedly doubled down on the call for Canada to merge with the United States since then.

Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party had been on track to win the vote but Trump's attacks, combined with the departure of unpopular former premier Justin Trudeau, transformed the race.

Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister in March, convinced voters that his experience managing economic crises made him the ideal candidate to defy Trump.

The political newcomer previously served as governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, and in the latter post he played a key role reassuring markets after the 2016 Brexit vote.

Carney is known for weighing his words carefully but still faced a challenge dealing with the confrontational Trump on the US president's home turf.

"This is a very important moment for him, since he insisted during the campaign that he could take on Mr Trump," Genevieve Tellier, a political scientist at the University of Ottawa, told AFP.

One point in Carney's favor is that he is not Trudeau, the slick former prime minister whom Trump famously loathed and belittled as "governor" of Canada, she added.

H.Darwish--SF-PST