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Prime Minister Mark Carney dodged questions about the last time he spoke to his U.S. counterpart Sunday, saying 'who cares?' when pressed by reporters.
Still, a spokesperson for Carney said Monday he is considering a trip to Washington next week to attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup, which Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are jointly hosting in 2026.
That draw, set to take place at the Kennedy Centre, the performing arts centre U.S. President Donald Trump now personally controls, will determine the group-stage matches for that major soccer tournament.
Canada-U.S. trade talks broke down abruptly last month after Trump lashed out at Canada for Ontario Premier Doug Ford's anti-tariff ad campaign that invoked Ronald Reagan.
Speaking to the press in Johannesburg at the end of a visit to the Middle East and Africa to bolster trade ties and meet with G20 leaders, Carney said he's been preoccupied in recent weeks with crafting a federal budget and securing investment in Canada.
Carney and his government have sought to distance themselves from Trump after his ad-induced tirade against Canada, pursuing closer ties with oil-rich Gulf countries and a trade agreement with India.
"We've had discussions. I've been busy," Carney said when asked about connecting with Trump. "He's got other things to do and we'll re-engage when it's appropriate."
Asked again to detail when he last spoke to Trump, Carney said: "Who cares? I mean, it's a detail. I spoke to him. I'll speak to him again when it matters."
WATCH | 'Who cares?' says Carney about timing of last Trump talk:Prime Minister Mark Carney seemed to brush off questions about when he last spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump, at one point saying, 'Who cares?' while stressing there’s no 'burning' issue that requires a call. This comes after Trump abruptly ended U.S.-Canada trade talks following a controversial anti-tariff ad by Ontario.Conservatives pounced on that quip Monday, saying Carney's dismissive response has left tariff-hit industries and workers in the lurch.
Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney was elected saying he was best placed to handle the "existential threat" of American tariffs and since then has "backed down and capitulated" and secured no deal for tariff relief.
Carney had an elbows up approach to the U.S. when stumping for votes and now "his elbows are missing," Poilievre said.
"He said there are no issues of importance to discuss. In fact, he said, 'who cares.' We care about the workers who've lost their jobs and don't have paycheques to make their mortgage payments. Why doesn't he care?" Poilievre said in question period.
Conservatives also disseminated a written statement to reporters saying "Carney’s flippant attitude in South Africa matches his results for Canadians. The prime minister's term has been marked by a series of unilateral concessions without real results in return."
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was leading the trade negotiations until they went sideways, said Poilievre's comments were nonsense.
"Of course the prime minister cares about the well-being of workers and industries," LeBlanc said.
"Just because the leader of the Opposition keeps repeating the same line over and over again doesn't make it real," he said.
WATCH | Poilievre calls out Carney's 'who cares' comment:Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking during question period on Monday, addresses Prime Minister Mark Carney saying 'who cares' when he was asked over the weekend about when he last spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump. Minister of Canada-U.S. Trade Dominic LeBlanc responded by saying the government will continue to negotiate a deal with the United States.What is real is the stalled tariff talks and the poor state of relations between the two countries.
While the Carney-Trump relationship started off on good footing earlier this year, their most recent public interaction featured the prime minister apologizing to the president for Ontario's Reagan ad. "He accepted the apology when I spoke to him," Carney said Sunday.
Ontario's representative in Washington, D.C., David Paterson, said while formal talks have stalled outreach continues in the U.S. capital, and there's an increasing focus on bolstering ties with Congress.
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is up for a review next year and any move by Trump to tear up that deal would have to go through the House of Representatives and the Senate, which must approve international treaties like this one.
Paterson said Canadian negotiators should be heartened by what U.S. companies have already told the Trump administration about that deal, with most written submissions urging U.S. officials to keep it in place for the good of the American economy.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who was in Canada over the weekend for the Halifax International Security Forum, told CBC News it's imperative tariff talks between the two sides restart soon, and it's up to Trump to make that happen.
Shaheen, along with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, passed legislation in the upper house to stop some of Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods, a push that failed after the Republican-dominated House declined to pass something similar.
While legislatively blocking Trump hasn't worked to this point, a pending Supreme Court decision potentially nullifying them, plus the deleterious affect of the tariffs, is what could get Trump back to the table, she said.
Trump's popularity among voters has dropped off, especially among independents, and many voters have cited his tariffs policy as the reason why they have soured on him.
"Every business I've visited in New Hampshire has been hurt by the tariffs," Shaheen said. "The biggest issue I hear from my constituents is the rising cost of living and the impact of the tariffs on grocery prices."
"Th United States and Canada have one of the most complementary trading relationships — one of the best friendships of any two countries in history," she said. "We have missed you all this year we want you to come back to the United States."