By Katherine Tinsley
3:02pm PDT, May 13, 2025
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Donald Trump advisor Kevin Hassett recently blamed Canada for the tension between the U.S. and its neighbor.
Trump previously called the country “the 51st state” and referred to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor,” but Hassett hinted at the president being more willing to work with Canada’s new leader, Mark Carney.
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Kevin Hassett, who serves as the Director of the National Economic Council, discussed U.S.-Canada relations on CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime on Monday, May 12.
“I’m hearing anecdotally about a lot of damage in demand from Canada, for example, just because in part of the breakdown in sentiment and in feeling between us and them,” host Jon Fortt noted.
“Are you hearing the same, and what do you expect to happen from here?” he asked Hassett.
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Kevin Hassett responded to Jon Fortt’s question, saying, “No, I think that there were some difficult times. I think that Justin Trudeau and the president didn’t exactly get along, and Canada kept making it worse and worse with their rhetoric.”
“But now I think that we’ve had the [new] prime minister come in and meet the president and begin a new, closer relationship,” he continued, referencing Mark Carney, who visited the White House on May 6.
“So I’m sure everything will work out fine with Canada in the end,” he added.
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Kevin Hassett insisted that Donald Trump’s controversial reciprocal tariffs haven’t been that bad for Canada.
“Don’t forget that exempting the USMCA part of trade was a really, really big plus for Canada. And, so, they’ve been treated very, very well throughout this renormalization of trade relations,” he said, referencing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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While Donald Trump sees the value in Canada, Mark Carney previously stressed that the country “won’t be for sale, ever.”
After their meeting, Trump called the Prime Minister a “nice man” and a “step up” from Justin Trudeau.
