Canadian PM Mark Carney to meet Trump on Tuesday, says 'focus on trade pressures'

Canadian PM Mark Carney

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would meet next Tuesday with US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss trade and security.

"Our focus will be on both immediate trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations," Carney told a news conference on Friday after his recent election victory.

He also promised to launch the greatest transformation of Canada's economy since the end of the Second World War.

He vowed "the biggest transformation of our economy since the end of the Second World War," adding that it "will be an incredibly exciting time as we take control of our economic destiny."

Trump has Wednesday said Mark Carney is looking to make a trade deal and will visit the White House within the next week.

Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party had been on track to win the vote but Trump's attacks, combined with the departure of unpopular former premier Justin Trudeau, transformed the race.

Carney, who replaced Trudeau as prime minister just last month, convinced voters that his experience managing economic crises made him the ideal candidate to defy Trump.

Carney acknowledged in a victory speech that the coming months will be difficult, but said he had the experience to lead Canada through tumultuous times.

"It is a time to be bold to meet this crisis," he told a cheering crowd in Ottawa after the Liberal Party's comeback against the Conservatives.

"The challenges ahead are daunting," he said.

"Big changes, like the ones we're experiencing, are always worrying. We have a long way to go, but I have confidence, I have confidence in you, I have confidence in Canada."

Carney will first have to figure out how to deal with threats from the mercurial American president, who marked election day by again insisting Canada should become the 51st US state.