Prime Minister Of Canada Carney Softens Trump Tone Before G7
Prime Minister Of Canada Mark Carney arrived in Europe before the G7 summit and signaled a more muted line toward U.S. President Donald Trump. He met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday, then avoided naming the United States directly as trade talks moved closer to a July 1 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Carney’s shift comes after he won the job of prime minister in 2025 promising to confront Trump, and after Trump said this week that he may not renew the trade pact. Canada sends 70% of its exports to the United States, making the coming talks a direct test of how far Ottawa can absorb pressure without giving up its own trade goals.
Paris meeting before France summit
Carney told Macron that Canada and France "are determined to act in this way to strengthen our strategic autonomy in a world dominated by hegemonic powers and hyperscalers." Macron said France and Canada "share the same view of the world." Those comments came during their Paris meeting on Friday, when Carney did not mention the United States directly.
The G7 summit begins Monday in France, giving Carney a stage to keep the temperature lower than many observers expected after his January Davos speech became a symbol of middle-power resistance. That earlier speech, and his promise during the 2025 campaign to confront Trump, had set up a more combative posture than the one he is now taking in Europe.
USMCA review on July 1
The immediate pressure point is the scheduled July 1 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trump said this week that he may not renew the deal, and he also repeated that "the U.S. doesn't need anything that Canada has."
Robert Bothwell said Carney is facing pressure from Trump "than anybody else because we are more exposed to the United States." Carney has set a goal of doubling Canada’s non-U.S. exports in the next decade, a signal that Ottawa wants room to maneuver even as the existing trade relationship remains central.
For Canadians, the practical question is whether Carney can keep the G7 focused on diplomacy while preparing for a review that could reshape the terms of the country’s biggest export market. The next fixed point is Monday’s summit opening in France, with the July 1 USMCA review following soon after.
