Ottawa, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said there's "lots more to do" to land a proper trade agreement with the US after his negotiators made "some progress" in Washington this week.

Carney's comments came as his chief trade negotiator, Janice Charette, and Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc returned to Ottawa after days of negotiations with US officials.

Upon his return, LeBlanc chaired a two-hour meeting of the Advisory Committee on Canada-US Economic Relations to update officials on their meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

"During the meeting, I updated committee members on Canada's negotiating team's recent engagements with the United States and Mexico and the Government of Canada's ongoing work ahead of the upcoming joint [USMCA] review," he wrote on X.

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Flavio Volpe, the president of Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA), said LeBlanc's update was "very candid."

"It appears that the instructions from the White House is find a way," Volpe, who sits on the committee, told CBC. "Find a way to deal with the irritants in their relationship, but to remain in the relationship."

Canada and the US are locked in trade negotiations, particularly around the Trump administration's tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

Most crucially, due to ongoing tensions between the two countries, it has taken a long time to warm up negotiations on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for review this year.

According to Volpe, the US presented Canada with a new list of irritants on Tuesday that didn't contain any "surprises." Frustratingly, the US did not provide any solutions.

"I would suggest that the way that they're being presented now is between parties that want to get somewhere together, rather than a first salvo in a divorce," Volpe explained.