One day before Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Beijing, U.S. President Donald Trump offered his latest dismissal of the Canadian auto industry. The North American free-trade pact is “irrelevant,” Mr. Trump said while touring a Ford Motor Co. plant in Michigan, and the U.S. should stop buying Canadian cars.
Mr. Carney’s response came on Friday.
It will be great for Carney and the China class and that’s all it was intended to be.
Prime Minister @MarkJCarneyney’s trip to Beijing was widely touted as a chance to stabilize relations. In reality, it was a test of whether Canada can manage pressure without giving ground where it matters. How do you think the PM performed? pic.twitter.com/T2yeZdt5DR
— Michael Kovrig (@MichaelKovrig) January 17, 2026
