The meeting remained cordial throughout, though the tension increased when Trump, responding to a reporter’s question, reiterated that he thought Canada would be best off as a U.S. State, and referred to the Canada-U.S. border as an artificially drawn line. Understandably, this drew a response from Carney, who, in what was his best moment of the meeting, noted that “There are some places that are never for sale,” and that Canada is one of them:
“Canadian PM Mark Carney: “There are some places that are never for sale…Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale ever.””
This was effective framing by Carney. By referring to Canadians as ‘owners,’ and linking Canada to locations the U.S. President respects (Buckingham Palace, the White House), Carney, while not changing Trump’s mind, laid out Canada’s position in a strong yet reasonable manner.