Donald Trump says "This lie was made up" denying Mark Carney's claim about French-language protections

Amid a deepening US-Canada trade standoff, President Donald Trump used a Tuesday social media post to reject Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion that American negotiators had pressed for changes to French-language protections, calling the claim a fabrication by a desperate leader and saying he backed French-speaking Canadians. Carney had said US officials treated matters like the prominence of French-language programming and French labeling rules as irritants, while Canada regards them as rights. The exchange came as Trump floated renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods, threatened further duties on vehicles, steel, and auto parts, and Canada prepared retaliation. The two countries have deeply integrated supply chains, leaving businesses and consumers exposed to price uncertainty.