Carney and Trump revive the trade deal — teams told to deliver in "the coming weeks"

The Sunday signals

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday he had a "good conversation" with U.S. President Donald Trump on the future of Canada-U.S. trade, with negotiating teams set to work on a potential deal in the coming weeks, The Associated Press reported. "This builds on our recent constructive discussions on the outlines of a mutually beneficial trade deal that would create jobs for our workers, boost affordability for families, and fully respect Canada's languages, culture, and sovereignty," Carney wrote on social media. "Our teams will now be working in the coming weeks to deliver that outcome."

Trump's "concept" of a deal

Trump, speaking to reporters after deplaning in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday, said his administration has the "concept" of a new trade deal with Canada but declined to offer details, Reuters reported. Trump said he had spoken with Carney on trade in recent days. The twin signals — Carney's post and Trump's remark on the campaign trail — are the most upbeat public read on the file since the summer, though neither side has announced any terms, and no agreement has been signed.

From collapse to cautious revival

The upbeat assessment marks a shift from August, when Canada walked away from negotiations after rejecting U.S. demands that Carney said threatened Canadian sovereignty, French-language protections and the auto industry, The Associated Press reported. Trump responded with 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting Canadian retaliation. Talks have since resumed, but progress has been uneven, and the two sides have been discussing possible relief from U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and automobiles, although no details of a potential agreement have been announced. As recently as Wednesday, Carney said the countries were not yet in a position to reach an agreement before Tuesday's midterm elections — a timeline Sunday's statements leave intact, since "the coming weeks" runs past Tuesday's vote.

Why it matters now

The timing is doubly pointed: the trade dispute has become an issue in the November 3 midterms, particularly in Michigan and Maine, where Republican candidates have faced pressure over tariffs hurting local businesses, The Associated Press reported. And at home, the file lands four days before the November 5 federal budget, which will be read partly as a statement of how Canada weathers the tariff fight. What to watch: whether the negotiating teams produce anything concrete before the budget, and whether Tuesday's results change Washington's appetite for a deal.