US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Prime Minister Mark Carney against making him

US President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Prime Minister Mark Carney against making him an “enemy”, saying such a stance could hurt Canada’s economy and prove politically damaging.

Carney also announced a C$4.7 billion ($3.41 billion) investment to build and maintain VIA Rail passenger cars in Canada, marking the first time in four decades that the company’s cars will be manufactured domestically. Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of US imports from September 8, in response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Sharing a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “It is very good for Canadian Politicians like Prime Minister Carney to make President Donald J Trump “the enemy,” until their Economy collapses, then it will prove to be very bad for Politics — Worse than anything that has ever happened to a Canadian Politician. Cars that used to be built in the ⁠United States ‌will be built right here in Thunder Bay at Alstom Canada,” Carney said. Just watch! “For the first time in four decades, VIA’s passenger cars will be produced and assembled in Canada. The announcement came amid an escalating trade dispute between the two countries.

Earlier on Thursday, Carney said Canada was ready to negotiate a trade agreement with the US, but stressed that any deal must provide stability and credibility.

Earlier this week, Carney had criticised the Trump administration’s approach to the trade dispute, telling Washington to “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” while saying talks could resume if the US became serious about negotiations. Trump on Wednesday said the renaming of the lake to “Lake America” was “complete, ratified, and binding” after Apple Maps adopted the name for users in the US. The trade tensions have also spilled into a separate dispute over the name of Lake Ontario.