TORONTO — Canada is making progress on "small" tariff deals with the U.S. for key sectors, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday after revealing he'd had a recent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Carney disclosed the call during a scrum with reporters outside a cabinet retreat in Toronto, saying he spoke with Trump "at length" Monday evening on a wide range of issues, including trade, geopolitics and employment.
He described it as a "good conversation" but also warned there is no guarantee Ottawa will secure any of the deals under discussion as the Trump administration works to squeeze the Canadian economy to obtain trade concessions.
"Don't expect immediate white smoke on one of these strategic sectors, but that's the kind of conversation that we're having," Carney said.
The Vatican sends a plume of white smoke up from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to signal that a new Pope has been chosen.
While Carney did not specify which key sectors are the subject of trade talks, the sectors targeted by U.S. tariffs include steel, aluminum, forestry products and automobiles.
The Prime Minister's Office did not disclose Monday or Tuesday that the two had spoken at all, which is the standard practice. The PMO sent a statement to media after Carney spoke Wednesday that said the two leaders are in "close and frequent communication."
Carney said Canada has a team of senior bureaucrats in Washington — including the head of the public service, Michael Sabia — who are speaking with their U.S counterparts on key trade issues.
Carney's cabinet is holed up behind closed doors at a Toronto hotel as it prepares for the upcoming fall sitting of Parliament, and further negotiations with the Americans on tariffs.
The upcoming review of Canada's free trade pact with the U.S. and Mexico is also on the agenda at the retreat that will run through the end of Thursday.
"We need to lay the groundwork for that review," Carney said. "This is a government that can do more than one thing at one time, as well as advancing those discussions in Europe and in Asia as we diversify our trade partners."
— With files from Emilie Bergeron
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2025
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
