Mark Carney, 60, is the prime minister of Canada. But he’s only been in the job for two months.

He replaced Justin Trudeau in March, after the former prime minister announced in January that he would be stepping aside.

Carney went on to win the Liberal Party leadership race, locking down 85% of the votes from party members.

Shortly after taking office, Carney called a snap election and successfully staged an unexpected comeback for his centre-left party and won Canada’s federal election.

For many in Canada and the UK, Carney will be a familiar face. He was governor of both the Banks of Canada and England, serving at the former during the 2008 financial crash and the latter during Brexit.

Carney has taken a defiant stance against Donald Trump, vowing that Canada will never become the 51st US state, despite repeated threats from the US president.

The highly anticipated meeting between the two leaders today will hopefully provide a clearer indication of what direction their relationship will take.

Former Canadian diplomat Peggy Mason says she expects Mark Carney to handle today’s meeting in a “calm” and “straightforward” manner.

“He has said he is hoping for a constructive working relationship,” Mason tells the BBC.

She adds that during this first in-person meeting Carney will try to “set that tone” as well as “launch the conversation” on removing the tariffs as soon as possible.

“The prime minister has made it clear…that there is no going back to the old relationship [which had been] highly integrated on every level – from trade, people-to-people.

“The trust has been broken.”

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

I’ve just arrived at the White House, which is still quiet ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit.

Just across the street, the unmistakable red-and-white Canadian flag is flying over Blair House, where foreign dignitaries often stay during official visits to Washington.

Security on Pennsylvania Avenue is slightly tighter, with more ID checks, although the level of security pales in comparison to the visits of Volodomyr Zelensky or Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year.

Carney is expected to arrive at 11:30 EST (16:30 BST), which will be followed quickly by talks in the Oval Office.

This meeting will be open to the White House press pool, and we’re likely to hear from both leaders.

These can occasionally be awkward or tense if it’s clear that there are points of friction between Trump and the foreign leader. This was most stark during Zelensky’s visit, although we have seen less dramatic disagreements with other dignitaries in the past.

After that, at about 12:15 EST (17:15 BST), the two will have lunch away from reporters and camera crews.

Stay with us for more updates.

As BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher noted earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s relationship with US President Donald Trump appears to be warmer than that of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

The pair spoke ahead of the Canadian election, in what Carney described as a “very constructive” call. Trump said the conversation was “extremely productive”.

“I’ve always loved Canada,” Trump told reporters after the call. “We had a very good conversation.”

For his part, the US president said Carney “couldn’t have been nicer”.

Trump’s tone with Carney has stood in contrast to his past remarks about Canada – particularly his frequent jabs at Trudeau, whom he mockingly referred to as “governor Trudeau”.

Canadian and US relations have been strained since Donald Trump returned to the White House, largely driven by the US president’s talk of a “51st state” and imposition of tariffs.

Earlier this year, the president sparked a global trade war with tariffs on Canada and Mexico, arguing the countries had not done enough to tackle migrant and fentanyl trafficking – claims they deny.

The US president partially imposed a blanket 25% tariff on various Canadian goods, along with 25% import taxes on all aluminium and steel imports, but then exempted products covered by a US, Canada and Mexico trade deal known as USMC.

Canada retaliated with some C$60bn ($42bn; £32bn) worth of tariffs on US goods.

Trump’s repeated threat to make Canada the US’s “cherished 51st state” and description of former prime minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” has also frayed relations.

This prompted Carney to centre much of his election campaign to standing up to Trump’s “betrayal”. He said in his victory speech that Trump “wants to break us so America can own us”.

• Read more: Trump disliked Trudeau – why Carney may fare better

Mark Carney’s plan for his meeting with Donald Trump is clear: project a strong image and do his best to get on the president’s good side, says our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher.

But how might he pull it off? Here’s more from Anthony on what to expect:

Trade and tariffs are likely to be on Mark Carney’s mind during his first in-person meeting with President Trump since becoming prime minister.

Since coming his inauguration, Trump has hit Canada with various import taxes. Canada, in turn, retaliated.

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Canada has “consistently been one of the top two trading partners for the United States”, with the two countries also having supply chain integration for industries including automobiles and energy.

The Canadian government’s website further says that almost C$3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services crossed the border daily in 2023.

According to 2024 data, Canada was at the top of the US’s leading exporters list.

During his first post-election press conference last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked how he would avoid a heated exchange similar to the one Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky experienced during his visit to the Oval Office back in February.

“I go there with the expectation of difficult but constructive discussions, that’s the spirit of the conversations that the president and I had,” he said.

“You got to these meetings well prepared, understanding the objectives of your counterpart and always acting in the best interest of Canada,” he added.

Trump disliked Trudeau – why Carney may fare betterpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

The victory-party din for Mark Carney and his Liberal Party had only just faded when Donald Trump chimed in with a less than ringing endorsement of the winners.

“It was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least that won,” the US president said on Wednesday of Carney, whose party had just retained power by winning a near outright majority of the seats in Canada’s general election.

The Canadian prime minister may accept being the lesser of two evils in Trump’s mind, however. The US president also said that he thinks the former Bank of England governor “couldn’t have been nicer” in the first post-election phone conversation.

The two men are expected to meet at the White House on Tuesday.

For Trump, politics is often personal. His distaste for former prime minister Justin Trudeau was palpable practically from the US president’s first day in office in 2017.

Their lengthy, aggressive handshake during their first in-person visit just a few weeks after Trump’s inauguration foreshadowed what would be a long and trying relationship.

It was punctuated by passive-aggressive jabs, snide comments and, upon Trump’s return to the White House, the president’s derisive reference to “Governor Trudeau” and repeated talk of turning Canada into America’s “cherished 51st state”.

Trump’s annexation talk continued even after Trudeau was replaced by Carney, but the temperature has seemed to drop somewhat, as the smooth international banker with a Harvard and Oxford pedigree replaced the younger, boyishly good looking Trudeau.

• Read more of Anthony’s analysis here

Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House today – just one week after winning the federal election.

Relations between the once close allies have been frayed in the wake of Trump’s new tariff regime, as well as his repeated comments about making Canada the 51st US state.

Carney has taken a firm stance against Trump since taking over from his predecessor Justin Trudeau in March, and his election campaign focused heavily on defending Canada’s sovereignty.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC following his win, Carney said his country deserved respect from the US and would only enter trade and security talks with Trump “on our terms”.

In a phone call shortly after, during which the US president reportedly congratulated Carney on his recent win, the pair agreed to meet soon.

Canadians, who have spent the last few months on tenterhooks, will be closely following today’s meeting.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest developments here on this page, so stick with us.