Trump hosts Canada PM Carney as tariffs push alliance to lowest point in decades-OxBig News Network

President Donald Trump will host Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Tuesday, teeing up a potentially tense meeting as relations between Washington and Ottawa hit their lowest point in decades.

“He’s coming to see me. I’m not sure what he wants to see me about, but I guess he wants to make a deal. Everybody does,” Trump said Monday in response to a question about Carney’s visit.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick painted Canada as little more than an economic leech on the United States.

“They have been basically feeding off of us for decades upon decades upon decades,” Lutnick said in a Fox Business interview, the day before Carney’s visit. “They have their socialist regime and it’s basically feeding off of America.”

Last year, Canada traded with the United States more than any other country except Mexico, with total goods trade totaling roughly $762 billion, according to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

But the trade relationship has faltered as Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Canadian goods.

Canadian exports to the United States dropped 6.6% in March, while its exports to other countries shot up nearly 25%, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Trump’s tariffs, coupled with his expansionist calls for America to absorb Canada as a state and his regular insults and accusations, have upended Canadian politics.

Carney’s Liberal Party won enough seats last week in parliament to form the next government, after months of trailing behind conservatives in polls. Three months into Trump’s term, the Canadian election was seen as a rejection of Trump and surge in Canadian pride.

Bruce Heyman, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday that the meeting holds high stakes for both Carney and Trump, who has promised that he can negotiate advantageous trade deals with individual countries.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.