Trump floats 'concept' of US-Canada trade deal including Keystone XL pipeline after call with Carney

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, November 1, in Dubuque, Iowa, that his administration has the “concept” of a new trade deal with Canada that would include the long-stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline. “We have the concept of a deal that's going to be great for our farmers, great for our country, and it will be fine for Canada,” he told reporters, according to CBC News. “They're going to build the Keystone Pipeline. They're going to pay for it,” he added. He gave no further details of the proposed agreement and no timeline.

The call: Carney calls it constructive, sources say key gaps remain

Carney said on X earlier on Sunday that he had had a “good conversation” with Trump on the future of Canada-US trade, adding that their exchange “builds on recent constructive discussions on the outlines of a mutually beneficial trade deal” that would create jobs, improve affordability and fully respect Canada's languages, culture and sovereignty. A source familiar with the matter told The Globe and Mail that the leaders spoke on Saturday, that Trump ordered his team to resume formal talks and that negotiations were expected to begin within days. But a source quoted by Radio-Canada said “key elements” remained unresolved: “We are not on the verge of an agreement just yet.”

Keystone XL and the trade dispute in the background

Keystone XL was designed to carry Canadian crude to the United States before former president Joe Biden cancelled the project in 2021. Canada-US trade talks broke down in August, mainly over car trade, and both countries have since imposed steep duties on each other. Carney said on Wednesday that Canada was not yet in a position to agree to a deal except on terms in Canada's interests. US midterm elections take place on Tuesday, November 3, and tariffs on Canada have become an issue in northern border states such as Michigan and Maine. No new agreement has been announced.