Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney complained on Tuesday that the Trump administration is not taking his concerns seriously and said he will not be willing to negotiate a new trade deal until “the Americans stop doing memes.”
Carney grumbled that the social media humor directed at Canada by administration officials was “beneath their office” and “not constructive.”
Carney said there is a “positive opportunity that has always existed with the United States for a mutually beneficial trade deal that respects Canadian sovereignty.”
“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” he said.
President Donald Trump and some of his top officials have been mocking Carney and his government in a variety of ways since trade talks collapsed last week – and Carney gave them plenty to work with, beginning with his hyperbolic declaration that Canada was now “at war” with the United States.
“It’s very unfortunate that Prime Minister Carney has turned this into a political shouting match. I mean, we’re not at war with Canada. How are we going to be at war with Canada? What, they’re going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us?” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent responded on Monday.
The West Edmonton Mall used to have a set of tiny white and yellow submarines that would take riders on a tour of its aquarium. The ride shut down in 2005 due to declining customer interest and frequent mechanical problems. It has long been a joke among Canadians that the Edmonton Mall had more operational submarines than the Royal Canadian Navy.
On Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth racked up almost 10 million views on social media platform X by posting a picture of two women at the Cadet Training Center in Vernon, British Columbia.
Canada’s National Post accused Hegseth of making a “demeaning comment about their appearance,” but his only comment on the post was, “This is real.”
Although not itself a “meme,” President Trump’s executive order on Sunday renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” inspired a good deal of sarcasm on social media.
Carney said on Tuesday that victories for his Liberal Party in three special elections – two of them Liberal holds, and one a flip from the Conservative Party of Canada – demonstrated public support for his positions, including the trade war against the United States.
“I’m pleased to have a remarkable caucus. You know, in my view my role, as my colleagues do, to do our job… and we’re going to stand up for Canada, we’re going to build this country, we’re going to help unite this country and we’re going to stand up for Canada,” he said.
“At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government’s plan,” he declared.
“The United States is getting a message tonight. Our leader has the support of the Canadian people,” Liberal member of parliament Hedy Fry told CBC in an interview on Tuesday.
