On October 7, 2025, the usually staid setting of the Oval Office was filled with laughter, tension, and a touch of transnational banter as President Donald Trump welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for a high-stakes bilateral meeting. The agenda was packed: trade, tariffs, security, and the ever-present challenge of divergent foreign policies. But it was President Trump’s now-infamous “51st state” quip—suggesting, yet again, that Canada could simply become part of the United States—that set the tone for a meeting that was as much about personality as policy.
“The merger of Canada and the United States!” Trump exclaimed with a smirk, interrupting Carney’s earnest praise of his presidency and triggering a wave of laughter throughout the room. According to India Today, Carney, quick on his feet, laughed along but clarified, “That wasn’t where I was going.” The banter, though lighthearted, underscored deeper anxieties. Trump’s repeated jests about annexing Canada—first floated years ago and revived at this meeting—have not gone over well north of the border. In fact, as Canada’s national statistical office reported, Canadian visits to the U.S. dropped by a staggering 23% in the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, a clear sign that the jokes and the tariffs are taking their toll.
Trade was at the heart of the day’s talks. The meeting came just two months after the U.S. imposed a 35% tariff rate on Canadian goods, on top of existing sector-specific tariffs—like the hefty 50% duties on steel and aluminum. These moves have rattled Canadian exporters and stoked fears about the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a deal crucial to Canada’s economy given that more than three-quarters of its exports head south to the U.S.
Trump, never one to shy away from bold declarations, predicted that Canadians would "travel to the United States again after a trade deal is reached." He told reporters, “I understand that. Look, I understand that,” acknowledging the drop in Canadian tourism. But he remained optimistic, saying, “It’s something that will get worked out. There’s still great love between the two countries but you know American people want product here, they want to make it here. We are competing for the same business. That’s the problem. That’s why I keep mentioning one way to solve that problem. There’s a very easy way.”
For many Canadians, the “easy way” Trump alluded to—making Canada the 51st state—has grown tiresome, even offensive. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, reportedly found the joke so grating that it contributed to his departure from office. Carney himself, in a previous meeting, had bluntly told Trump that “Canada would never be for sale,” a sentiment he has reiterated since taking office in March. As Hindustan Times noted, Carney has vowed that “Canada will never ever be part of the US in any way, shape, or form.”
Despite the friction, the leaders found common ground, at least in their public remarks. Carney, ever diplomatic, offered effusive praise for Trump, calling him a “transformative president.” He cited “transformation in the economy, unprecedented commitment to the NATO partners to defence spending, peace from India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, disabling Iran as a force of terror.” Trump, in turn, described Carney as “a world-class leader” and a “tough negotiator.” The mutual admiration, however, did little to mask the underlying issues.
Trade, of course, wasn’t the only item on the agenda. Trump raised concerns about a “flood” of fentanyl from Canada and expressed frustration with Carney’s efforts to recognize a Palestinian state. As Nexstar Media reported, these points have become roadblocks in the already complex trade negotiations. Trump was clear about his willingness to renegotiate the USMCA or even pursue separate deals with Canada and Mexico. “We could renegotiate it, and that would be good, or we can just do different deals,” he said. “We’re allowed to do different deals if we want. We might make deals that are better for the individual countries.”
Carney entered the meeting hoping for relief from the sector-specific tariffs that have battered Canadian industries. Afterward, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for U.S. trade, described the talks as “successful” and “positive,” but acknowledged that “the conversation would continue.” The stakes are high: with so much of Canada’s economic well-being tied to U.S. markets, any uncertainty about trade agreements sends ripples through both countries’ economies.
The meeting’s lighter moments—Trump’s jokes, Carney’s laughter—did little to dispel the sense that relations between the two countries are at a low ebb. Frank McKenna, a former Canadian ambassador to the United States, told Canada’s national statistical office, “We’ve had ups and downs, but this is the lowest point in relations that I can recall. I talk every day to ordinary citizens who are changing their vacation plans, and I talk to large business owners who are moving reward trips away or executive business trips. There is an outright rebellion.”
Foreign policy differences added another layer of complexity. While the United States has stood firmly with Israel, Canada formally recognized the State of Palestine on September 21, 2025. Trump, addressing the ongoing conflict in Gaza, said, “We’re in serious negotiations to a conflict—you could say 3,000 years, but it’s been raging for a long time, and there’s a possibility we could have peace in the Middle East. Something beyond the Gaza situation. We want to release the hostages.” He claimed near-universal support for his peace plan, stating, “Every country in the world has supported the plan. I don’t think there’s anybody that hasn’t approved that I’ve seen.”
Yet, the differences over Gaza and Palestine recognition are stark. The two leaders agreed to keep talking, but neither side gave ground on the core issues. Trump’s “natural conflict” refrain was met with Carney’s more measured response: “There are areas where we compete, and it’s in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works. But there are more areas where we are stronger together, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
In the end, the meeting was a microcosm of the current state of U.S.-Canada relations: a mix of camaraderie and competition, shared interests and sharp disagreements, laughter and lingering unease. As trade talks continue and the world watches, both leaders seem determined to find a path forward—tariffs, jokes, and all.
For now, the “51st state” remains a punchline, not a policy, but the serious business of trade and diplomacy presses on, with both sides hoping for a breakthrough that will restore not just economic ties, but a sense of neighborly trust.