Donald Trump says Canada and Iran have something in common — they both want a deal.
The U.S. president, who spoke to reporters Saturday in Dublin before visiting to his golf course in western Ireland, was asked whether he planned to have the United States pull out of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade.
His response included references to negotiations between Iran and the United States to end a war that started in February when the U.S. and Israel started airstrikes on Iran.
"Canada wants to make a deal very badly, just like Iran wants to make a deal very badly," Trump said. "I just don't think they're ready. But Canada wants to make a deal .... I hope Canada appreciates being in the same sentence with Iran."
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.
The most recent formal negotiations between Canada and the United States ended Aug. 21.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to attack some ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which has become an important source of leverage for Tehran in the war.
The U.S. has been introducing new measures to increase the economic pain on Iran after negotiations collapsed and no end to the intermittent fighting appears in sight.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran wants a deal to end the conflict, but Tehran's hardline leaders have signaled a willingness to dig in.
"It's very interesting — Canada and Iran. Canada wants to make a deal and Iran wants to make a deal. At the right time, both of these things could happen," he said in Ireland on Saturday.
Trump's trip included a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin. At one point, the U.S. president responded to a question about Irish reunification, saying he would love to see the reunification of the Republic of Ireland with the United Kingdom's Northern Ireland.
A protest march drew thousands to central Dublin, but Trump had left the city and was on the way to his Doonbeg golf course on the country’s Atlantic coast by the time the demonstration began.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2026
— With files from the Associated Press
