Donald Trump says ‘Canada wants to make a deal very badly, just like Iran’ during Ireland visit - Toronto Star

The U.S. president made a point of mentioning the two countries in the same sentence while answering a reporter's question in Dublin.

U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Sept. 12, 2026. 

U.S. President Donald Trump put Canada and Iran side by side when discussing potential deals on Saturday, apparently equating the United States’ relationship with one of its closest allies to that of an enemy nation. 

Asked by a reporter whether he was considering withdrawing from the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) on trade entirely, Trump said that “Canada wants to make a deal very badly, just like Iran wants to make a deal very badly.”

Trump made his comments during a meeting in Dublin with Ireland’s taoiseach Micheál Martin, the country’s head of government. 

“I just don’t think they’re ready,” Trump added, saying that both countries could get a deal “at the right time” with the United States. “But Canada wants to make a deal. I hope Canada appreciates being in the same sentence with Iran.”

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks to U.S. Embassy personnel and business leaders at Deerfield Residence on Sept. 12, 2026, in Dublin. 

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Friday that no formal trade talks were scheduled, although he said conversations between Canadian and American officials have not stopped. His office declined to comment on Trump’s Saturday remarks. 

The president started by saying that the United States has a “good” relationship with Canada and followed this with his oft-repeated assertion that his country “has been ripped off for 50 years by Canada.” 

The North American neighbours have been embroiled in an escalating trade war since Prime Minister Mark Carney summoned negotiators home on Aug. 21, accusing the American side of making last-minute demands that would undermine Canada’s sovereignty. The two countries appeared to be on the verge of a deal earlier that week, to settle some outstanding trade irritants and prevent the United States from imposing a new round of punishing tariffs on Canada.

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