RECAP | Canada election: Carney says Trump ‘respected sovereignty of our country’ during private call

We’re winding down this live page for the day. Thanks for sticking with us. Here’s a recap of the day’s news, and some more stories to read from our colleagues:

• Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump held their first-ever call today, and both said it went well.
• Federal party leaders Poilievre, Singh and Blanchet said they were glad for the tone shift, but wanted more details.
• Poilievre, after announcing policy pledges to target drugs and crime, said Trump favours the Liberals to win the election.
• Singh spoke about housing in Toronto, while Blanchet talked supply management protections at a Quebec dairy farm.
• U.S. Vice-President JD Vance told reporters while in Greenland that there’s “no way” Canada can win a trade war with the U.S.

CBC senior writer Natalie Stechyson has a story on the U.S. egg shortage, and why the country isn’t asking Canada for help. And senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong explains why there’s no such thing as a Made in America car anymore.

Have thoughts on the election? Our colleagues want to hear from you.

CBC Radio’s Cross Country Checkup asks: How is the trade war affecting your job security and how might that change your voting plans?

Leave your comment here and we might read it on air or call you back for the show on Sunday.

Plus, CBC News Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault is taking The National to Medicine Hat, Alta., to hear directly from voters about what issues are shaping their vote in this election.

If you’re in Medicine Hat and want to be part of the conversation, reach out to [email protected].

Carney has said multiple times he wants a "comprehensive discussion" with the U.S. on trade and security.

But today he was more specific, saying it's "Canada's preference" to have a renegotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

"According to us, it's necessary to have a renegotiation, a new agreement, a new partnership with the United States because there are too many changes, too many tariffs, too many threats, too much uncertainty now in our relationship," he said in French.

The agreement is up for renewal in 2026, but could be redrawn before that. Trump has ordered a review of it for the U.S.

Moments ago aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters he's "always loved Canada."

The president repeated that the conversation with Carney had been "very good."

"They've got an election going on, so we're going to meet after the election," Trump said.

He then said he would soon be introducing pharmaceutical tariffs on U.S. trading partners, which could include Canada.

Yesterday Carney identified five "strategic areas" Trump was targeting to repatriate production to the U.S. They include pharmaceuticals, lumber, automobiles, steel and aluminum and semiconductors.

A journalist asked whether Trump would be willing to cut deals with other countries, as the United Kingdom has indicated it wanted to do.

"I'm certainly open to that if we can do something where we can get something for it," the president said, adding that deals could "probably" only be agreed upon after tariffs were announced.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said earlier today he was concerned by Carney's statement about there being a "comprehensive discussion" to come with Trump.

He took that to mean the Liberal leader might be open to conceding to U.S. pressure on supply management issues, which could affect Quebec dairy and egg markets, as well as on the culture and entertainment sector.

Canada currently has measures in the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement to protect Canadian entertainment.

Carney said twice at his news conference that supply management was "off the table" for him, should he be elected prime minister. He added that culture and protections to the French language were also non-negotiable.

"I will work non-stop to win the support of Canadians and Quebecers this election," he said.

Blanchet had also called it presumptuous of Carney to set up a discussion with Trump for after the Canadian election.

Carney said his goal of the call was to agree to wider talks on economy and security with whomever the prime minister may be — but that he believed it would be better if it were him.

While Carney said his goal was to get Trump to agree to further talks, he said the president didn't indicate "pulling back on the tariffs on autos, steel or aluminum."

Carney said that "underscores the importance of more intensive discussions” between Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and their American counterparts.

On that last word, he at first could only think of the French word: contreparties.

Carney chuckled. "See? It's difficult to translate even in English for me.”

David Thurton travelling with the NDP here. We are about to fly out of Toronto to Ottawa.

This is the first time Singh’s campaign is going airborne. That’s noteworthy because the first week of the campaign was literally and figuratively grounded.

The NDP began significantly behind in the polls, and opted to spend all of its first week on a bus. At one point, we travelled between Montreal and Toronto — a six-hour drive.

The campaign spent more time on the road getting to its next event than campaigning. In such a short election race like this, every moment matters.

The campaign schedule picked up steam on Wednesday, while on a Hamilton swing. But we never visited steelworkers or labour leaders. Instead, we visited a seniors’ centre twice and a pizza joint.

Thursday, the day after Donald Trump’s auto-tariff announcement, the campaign team seemed to course-correct. It made a last-minute decision to head to Windsor, the automotive capital of Canada.

That decision reaped rewards for the party. Newscasts and websites featured images of Singh with his sleeves rolled up, meeting union leaders and autoworkers.

There is no doubt the NDP has missed opportunities to capture voters' attention in an election where much of the focus seemed to be on the Conservatives and the Liberals — nor that they hope things can only go up from here.

My colleague Ashley Burke asked Carney whether he believes there was a strategy behind Trump's seemingly more respectful tone toward Canada after their phone call today.

"There's always a strategy in a negotiation," Carney said, adding that he's been clear about Canadian priorities to build out trading options.

Trump respected Canadian sovereignty today, "both in his public and private comments,” Carney said.

"Perhaps there was a different impression before about how strong Canada really is," he said in English. He didn't repeat that in French, stopping short at his previous statement.

He laughed and said, "I'm tempted to add something, but I'll stop there."

Carney characterized his call with Trump as “cordial,” echoing the president’s more positive tone in comments earlier today.

He also said the call was "very productive and very constructive," but that it was only the “start of negotiations" — mere days before the next round of threatened tariffs.

“We will see what the United States will do on the second of April…. It is still the case that there are tariffs on a number of other Canadian goods," he said.

Trump wants to transform the U.S. economy, the Liberal leader told press, and "because of that, he will transform the Canadian economy.”

"Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy," Carney said. "We must ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world."

He also repeated his very popular statement from yesterday: "The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over."