TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday U.S. President Donald Trump will ultimately respect Canada’s sovereignty and be ready for comprehensive trade talks because Americans are going to suffer from Trump's trade war.
Carney said talks with Trump will not happen “until we get the respect we deserve as a sovereign nation. By the way, this is not a high bar.”
Trump kept up his near-daily attacks on Canada on Friday, repeating that the country should be the 51st state and that the U.S. keeps Canada “afloat.”
“When I say they should be a state, I mean that,” the American president said.
Carney met with Canada’s provincial leaders at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where he announced relief packages for workers and businesses hurt by the trade war and announced moves to expedite resource projects.
Carney, sworn in last Friday, still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump. Trump mocked Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, by calling him Governor Trudeau, but he has not yet mentioned Carney’s name.
The new prime minister said he wants a comprehensive discussion on trade and security with the Americans and not a one-off tariff discussion.
“In the end, Americans are going to lose from American trade action and that’s one of the reasons I am confident that there will be that discussion with the appropriate amount of respect and the breadth," Carney said. “I am ready for it anytime they are ready.”
Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products as well as all of America's trading partners on April 2.
Carney became Prime Minister after winning a Liberal Party leadership race triggered by Trudeau’s decision to step down earlier this year. He's expected to trigger the process for early parliamentary elections this Sunday, with a vote expected before April 28.
The governing Liberals appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war and upended Canadian politics.
The almost daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips south of the border and avoiding buying American goods when they can. The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.
Carney said the premiers of Canada's provinces had agreed to work on a plan to develop a national trade and energy corridor in an effort to diversify trade.
He said that could mean a oil pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to Eastern Canada. Quebec has previously opposed a pipeline, but Premier François Legault now says opinions are changing because of Trump's threats. Carney said Quebec uses about 350,000 barrels of oil daily and 70% of that comes from the U.S.
“That is not a good idea for us at all. So there is an opportunity to put a pipeline there but we need social acceptance. We need a partnership with indigenous people as well," Carney said.
He said the federal government would speed up projects by recognizing provincial assessments. Canadian leaders also talked about about moving quickly to eliminate trade barriers between provinces and with the federal government.
Carney also said Ottawa is also going to waive the one-week waiting period to get employment insurance for people whose jobs are cut because of the tariffs, and temporarily allow Canadian businesses to defer income tax and sales tax payments to help boost their liquidity.
Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference following the First Ministers Meeting at the National War Museum on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis ’ doctors are providing their first in-person update on the pontiff’s condition in a month, in a sign that he has made good and steady progress in his battle against double pneumonia.
The Saturday evening briefing is the first since Feb. 21, a week after the 88-year-old Francis was brought to Gemelli hospital after experiencing several respiratory crises that landed him in critical condition, though he has since stabilized.
In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless faithful from his 10th floor suite at the hospital. While Francis released an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him March 16, Sunday’s blessing will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted on Feb. 14 for what has become the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.
The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease, is prone to respiratory problems in winter and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted after a bout of bronchitis worsened.
Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setbacks began on Feb. 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring he use a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises in the following days, which required doctors manually aspirate the mucus, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.
At no point did he lose consciousness, and doctors reported he was alert and cooperative.
Over the past two weeks, he has stabilized and registered slight improvements, the Vatican press office has reported. He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night, and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
A participant in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples waits for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pontifical Swiss Guards patrol during a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pontifical Swiss Guards patrol during a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
