U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Prime Minister Mark Carney a “very nice gentleman” and said he expects the Canadian leader to visit him at the White House within a week.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, the President was asked about comments Mr. Carney made in his victory speech after the Liberal Party won the federal election this week. Mr. Carney had told cheering supporters that the United States “wants our country” and said that it had betrayed Canada with its protectionist tariffs and talk of annexation.

Mr. Trump appeared to shrug off these comments, noting Mr. Carney “was running for office.”

He talked of his Tuesday phone call with the Prime Minister, saying Mr. Carney “couldn’t have been nicer” and predicted “we‘re going to have a great relationship.”

That relationship will be under the microscope now that Mr. Carney has won an election in which he campaigned on standing up to Mr. Trump, preventing Canada from becoming part of the U.S. and diversifying trade.

Mr. Carney, for his part, has not commented on the issue since his Tuesday victory speech after an election that returned the Liberals to power for a fourth term. He is expected to meet the press on Thursday or Friday in his first postelection news conference.

In late March, Mr. Carney and Mr. Trump agreed that after the April 28 election, the leaders of the two countries would begin negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between the United States and Canada.

Speaking of the Tuesday call with Mr. Carney, Mr. Trump said Wednesday the Prime Minister reached out to him and said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’ ”

So far, the U.S. President has been positive in his public comments on Mr. Carney. This stands in stark contrast to his repeated belittlement of former prime minister Justin Trudeau as the “governor of the 51st state.”

Mr. Trump’s friendly characterizations of foreign leaders do not always lead to better treatment. He has repeatedly praised Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum while deriding Mr. Trudeau, but then imposed the same tariffs on Mexico as he did on Canada.

Asked about Mr. Trump’s White House visit comments, a senior Canadian government official would only point to Tuesday’s statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, which said Mr. Carney and Mr. Trump agreed to meet in person “in the near future.”

Mr. Trump had said: “He’s going to come to the White House very shortly, within the next week or less.”

It’s not clear what these postelection negotiations will lead to, but Mr. Carney in March said Mr. Trump’s tariffs and threatened levies “have called into question the validity” of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was supposed to safeguard free trade between the three countries.

It remains to be seen whether Trump-Carney talks result in a one-on-one trade deal with the U.S., another trilateral deal involving Mexico or any changes to the NORAD defence agreement between Canada and the U.S. “It’s the preference of Canada that Mexico would be part of the discussions,” Mr. Carney said last month of future trade talks with the U.S.

During the campaign, Mr. Carney ruled out making changes to Canada’s protectionist supply management system for dairy, poultry and eggs as part of future negotiations.

The federal government protects those farmers from foreign competition by imposing tariffs as high as 300 per cent on imports beyond an exempted level.

According to the senior government official, Mr. Carney has been working on several issues since the election, including reviewing options for his cabinet and other senior positions, planning for how to implement his pledge to reach an internal free trade agreement by Canada Day and preparing for planned discussions with the United States about improving trade relations.

The Globe is not identifying the senior official so that they could speak candidly about internal government matters.

The current U.S. tariffs on Canada, which remain in effect, include 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, as well as a 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian-made vehicles, which applies only to the non-U.S. content in those cars and light trucks. There is also a 25-per-cent tariff – which drops to 10 per cent on critical minerals, energy and potash – for goods that don’t comply with United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement rules of origin.

On Tuesday, Mr. Carney had calls with Mr. Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. More calls with international leaders are expected to take place this week.

Mr. Carney also spoke by phone Tuesday with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.

Mr. Poilievre has not made any public comments since his election night concession speech. At the time of that speech, it was not yet clear that he had lost his seat in the Ontario riding of Carleton, where he was seeking an eighth consecutive term.

As he is no longer a member of Parliament, Mr. Poilievre can remain as Conservative Leader but he cannot be Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. He could potentially run for a seat in a by-election if a Conservative MP agrees to step down.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also lost his riding Monday and announced that he plans to step down as party leader once an interim leader is selected.

Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston said he was “excited” about some of the plans Mr. Carney has promised, including creating national energy corridors, which he said could support several types of energy generation in his province.

“We have incredible potential in energy, so I’m really excited about that,” he said at a news conference Wednesday. “I’m just looking forward to working with the Prime Minister and his team.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Blanchet called on federal party leaders to provide parliamentary stability until the Prime Minister concludes talks with Mr. Trump’s administration on new economic and security arrangements.

Mr. Blanchet, whose separatist party lost 12 seats in Quebec, largely to the Liberals, said Mr. Trump’s tariff war requires political leaders to set aside political differences for the greater good of the country.

“They should meet and establish the terms of a period where we will not be looking to score points,” he told reporters Tuesday. “I believe Canadians and Quebeckers expect the new House of Commons that it should be stable and responsible for the duration of the negotiations.”

Mr. Blanchet said he could see a scenario where political collaboration with the Carney-led government could last up to a year or more until an agreement is reached with the Americans.

With a report from Robert Fife