Newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House on Tuesday in search of common ground during an ongoing trade war that has shattered decades of trust between the his country and the U.S. Although the conversation was civil, President Donald Trump repeated erroneous rhetoric about how the U.S. provides Canada with billions of dollars in subsidies.
“It’s hard to justify subsidizing Canada to the tune of maybe $200 billion a year,” he said. “We protect Canada militarily, and we always will. We not going to, you know, that’s not a money thing. But we always will. But, you know, it’s not fair. But why are we subsidizing Canada $200 billion a year or whatever the number might be? It’s a very substantial number.”
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: The U.S. subsidizes Canada with subsidies of about $200 billion per year.
THE FACTS: This is false. According to the White House, the number is based on the U.S. …