Carney set to deliver remarks, pitch Canada as investment hub in New York

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during the Board of Trade breakfast in Vancouver, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

NEW YORK — Prime Minister Mark Carney is in New York City Thursday to meet with business leaders as the relationship between Canada and the United States remains rocky ahead of a review of the continental trade pact.

The Prime Minister’s Office has not identified the CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and money managers Carney is expected to meet with to pitch Canada as an investment destination.

Carney is also set to deliver remarks at the Economic Club of New York outlining Canada’s new economic strategy and the progress made so far.

The trip comes as Mexican and American officials meet this week for negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.

The United States has not officially launched CUSMA negotiations with Canada.

U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Tuesday there are significant trade issues with Canada but he has been in regular contact with his Canadian counterparts.

The CUSMA review sets up a three-way choice for each country to make in July. They can renew the deal for another 16 years, withdraw from it or signal both non-renewal and non-withdrawal — which would trigger an annual review that could keep negotiations going for up to a decade.

Greer has suggested the Trump administration is unlikely to rubber-stamp a renewal and the three countries are preparing for lengthy trade talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump froze negotiations with Canada last year because he was angered by an Ontario-sponsored ad quoting former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

While the relationship appeared to thaw in March after a meeting between Greer and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, no official negotiations have been launched.

Greer said Tuesday most countries “begrudgingly” accepted that some level of tariffs would remain but Canada is in a “different spot” and it’s “hard to see where that ends.” He said tariffs would remain on Canada and Mexico, despite the trade agreement.

As the Trump administration continues to signal a turbulent path forward for the bilateral relationship — it paused the long-standing Permanent Joint Board on Defense earlier this month — Carney has focused on securing investment and deepening Canadian ties with other countries.

On Wednesday, Carney announced the federal government is entering into contract negotiations with Sweden’s Saab to buy a fleet of surveillance aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2026.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press