Carney chairs virtual meeting with the premiers as CUSMA talks loom on horizon

Prime Minister Mark Carney rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Prime Minister Mark Carney chaired a virtual meeting with the premiers Wednesday afternoon as his government prepared for major trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney updated the premiers on the status of engagement with the Trump administration on the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he is “not looking to renew” CUSMA, indicating the United States will blow past a July 1 deadline for renewal.

• Read more: ‘We don’t need anything that Canada has:’ Trump says he’s ‘not looking to renew’ North American trade deal

Speaking in Queen’s Park after the virtual meeting Wednesday afternoon — and after his return from meetings in Washington D.C. with industry groups earlier this week — Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the premiers were told Ottawa is “going to negotiate in good faith, and we are going to get through this.

“The question is, when are we going to get through it? When I was down in Washington, the No. 1 item is the uncertainty. People want certainty, they want stability.”

Carney’s office said he and the premiers also discussed the government’s national electricity strategy to double the amount of power generated by 2050.

This was the first meeting of all premiers since Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a fall referendum to consider a future referendum on separation.

Tensions persist between the Alberta and B.C. governments over a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast. Carney has agreed to work toward that project with the Smith government.

The meeting happened just weeks before the mandatory review of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on trade begins on July 1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026

The Canadian Press Staff