Canada not in a 'position right now' to agree to U.S. trade deal, Carney says

As trade talks intensify ahead of Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will only agree to a deal "when it suits Canadians."

PM says government will agree to deal 'when it suits Canadians'

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Canada's not in a 'position right now' to agree to a U.S. trade deal, Prime Minister Mark Carney says.

2 hours ago|

Duration

0:45

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is not yet in a position to agree to a trade deal with the United States, stressing that an agreement will only be possible "when it suits Canadians."

Speaking to reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday morning, Carney said Ottawa is looking for "the right deal for Canadians."

"We think there's deals that are in the best interests of Canada, first and foremost, but also are in the interests of the United States. That's always been the case. We've been consistent," he said.

"If those deals present themselves, we will pursue them. But we're not at that position right now."

WATCH | U.S. teases progress on Canada trade deal:

As midterms approach, U.S. teases progress on Canada trade deal

October 26|

Duration

1:40:08

With Canada-U.S. trade tensions emerging as a key issue ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, questions have swirled this week around whether a deal could be reached before the Nov. 3 vote.

U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior American officials have suggested in recent days that progress was being made.

"We'll have ​that settled pretty soon. They're willing to give us anything ​at this moment," Trump said during a rally in Michigan on Sunday.

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  'I don't know' if Trump would honour a new trade deal: Carney

But while trade talks have intensified, sources told CBC News earlier this week that the conversations didn't mean an agreement was imminent.

A source familiar with the discussions told Radio-Canada that "key elements" of the discussions remain unresolved, adding, "We are not on the verge of an agreement just yet."

Canada-U.S. negotiations fell apart in August and Washington imposed steep tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Ottawa announced its own "dollar for dollar" levies in response.

Carney was also asked on Monday about the prospects of a deal, saying that his government is ready "to sign an agreement that is in the interests of Canadians."

"We have very clear bottom lines, red lines, which meant that we were not willing to sign what was offered in August," he said. "To the extent to which the U.S. is moving towards accepting those aspects, then there's a greater prospect of a deal."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jillian Kestler-D'Amours is a senior writer at CBC based in Montreal. You can reach her at jillian.kestler-d.amours@cbc.ca.

With files from Peter Zimonjic, Louis Blouin and Katie Simpson