Carney addressed the impasse during an Ottawa press conference following a conversation with President Trump. While the primary focus of their dialogue centered on defense commitments, the looming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, casts a long shadow over the bilateral relationship. With the formal U.S.-led review scheduled for next week, analysts remain skeptical that a renewal is imminent.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra recently suggested that the two nations are far from a consensus, noting that negotiations with Mexico have progressed at a significantly faster pace. Carney dismissed the urgency of these optics, framing the choice as a binary one between a hasty, flawed agreement and a substantive, long-term framework. He emphasized that while a deal could technically be reached immediately, his administration will not sacrifice national interests for the sake of political expediency.