Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had several informal discussions with US President Donald Trump during the G7 summit in France, although no formal meeting took place.
In a Tuesday interview with CNN, Carney also said he had seen the preliminary agreement for the peace deal reached with Iran and that it had “exceeded” his expectations.
US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that an agreement had been reached to end the war in Iran, and that he had authorized the end of the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He later said the strait would not open until Friday when the agreement would be signed in Switzerland.
“I’ve had seven or eight discussions with President Trump over the last 36 hours,” Carney told reporters at the Evian-les-Bains resort in the French Alps.
He said they talked about the economy, artificial intelligence, Ukraine, and the US-Iran peace agreement. Carney also said he got Trump a birthday present and that he “loves it very much.”
In response to a question about why a bilateral meeting was not held, Carney said: “There is no message in that.”
Carney said Canada will do everything it can to help implement the agreement.
“It creates the potential to change the rules of the game,” Carney told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there is a change in tone and possibilities in Lebanon and Ukraine.
“The fact of the matter, the fact that so many countries participated in its development and contributed to its development, creates positive spillover effects.”
Carney said there was no Canadian money involved in the deal.
The summit comes as trade talks between Canada and the United States remain tense, with no clear decision on whether to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.
Canadian-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
Canada recently agreed to reduce its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles to 6.1 per cent, with an annual import cap of 49,000 vehicles – about three per cent of the Canadian market. In return, China suspended its retaliatory tariffs on Canadian agricultural products.
Trump has previously criticized the deal, threatening new tariffs and saying Canada will not be allowed to be a “landing port” for Chinese cars to enter the United States.
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But on Tuesday, Carney was heard telling Trump about Canada’s plan. “That’s good, I like it,” the president replied.
Carney later told reporters that they had a follow-up conversation about the matter.
“We are only interested in Chinese investment in Canada when it comes to physical Canadian production,” Carney said. “We are not interested in assembling equipment in Canada.
“We will only do what is in the best interest of Canadian consumers (and) Canadian workers.”
Carney also told reporters during the final day of the summit on Wednesday that the president only held bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While Macron is the only G7 leader Trump has met at the G7 so far, he has held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
On Wednesday, he held scheduled meetings with the leaders of Egypt and India and met with the leaders of Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, India, Italy, South Korea and Germany at the summit.
During his meeting with Modi, Carney said the two countries aim to complete their trade agreement by the G20 summit later this year.
Tuesday also included Canadian announcements of further sanctions on Russia and talks to purchase military aircraft from Italy.
The summit was postponed for one day after Trump announced that the White House would host a UFC fight on June 14, which is Flag Day in the United States and Trump’s 80th birthday.
Over the course of the summit, G7 leaders issued six joint statements, making several pledges such as reforming how developing countries access financing, and cooperating more on cancer research and the Ebola response.
There was also a commitment to preventing the smuggling of migrants and tackling drug trafficking.
In a statement on geopolitical issues, the leaders said they stood united in their support for Ukraine and the US-Iran peace deal.
The document said that the leaders recognize the “breakthrough and opportunity” in the Middle East and that they support and are ready to contribute to the implementation of the peace agreement between the United States and Iran. She also said that they are committed to accelerating the diversification of energy supply routes to reduce global exposure to the Strait of Hormuz and increase our energy reserves.
“We welcome Canada’s potential to provide significant additional capacity to global markets in the coming years,” the document said.
There’s diversity within that region, so not all the power goes out through the strait, but not enough, Carney said Wednesday.
“There is an intention to build a series of energy infrastructure there. Canada has the capacity to do several things, and we are on track to do several things,” he said, referring to liquefied natural gas and the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which he said would go ahead.
In another document, the leaders said they stand united in their “unwavering” support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They said they agreed to increase defense support and consider extending licenses to allow Ukraine’s military production to increase.
The leaders also said they would tighten their sanctions on Russia, including those related to the oil and gas sectors.
Before returning to Canada, Carney will participate in a G7 working session on economic growth and will attend a lunch with artificial intelligence companies.
Earlier this month, the Liberal government introduced an online harms bill that includes a plan to force social media companies to ban children under 16 from their platforms. Bill C-34 would also regulate AI-powered chatbots.
International support for age restrictions on social media has been growing since Australia became the first country to impose a ban, with countries such as Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Britain, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea introducing or considering similar measures.
