U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said negotiators facing a self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline are “sort of running out of time” to include Canada in a new North American trade deal, the Washington Post reports.

If the remaining gaps cannot be bridged in the next few days, the administration will request congressional approval of a deal with Mexico only, he said.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman told CNBC that President Trump risks seriously damaging the relationship between Canada and the U.S. as he pushes toward a new North American Free Trade Agreement.

Said Helman: “The definition of insanity, just listening to the president there, is how the president has been treating Canada all this time. You know, this is our best trading partner in the world.”

“High-stakes trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. were dramatically upended on Friday morning by inflammatory secret remarks from President Trump,” after the remarks were obtained by the Toronto Star.

In remarks Trump wanted to be “off the record,” Trump told Bloomberg News reporters yesterday that he is not making any compromises at all in the talks with Canada — but that he cannot say this publicly because “it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal.”

Said Trump: “Here’s the problem. If I say no — the answer’s no. If I say no, then you’re going to put that, and it’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal…I can’t kill these people.”

In another remark he did not want published, Trump said that the possible deal with Canada would be “totally on our terms.”

Axios: “The White House has not denied the report.”

U.S. trade negotiators told Canada that a new NAFTA deal has to be signed by this Friday, Bloomberg reports.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has arrived in Washington, D.C. in an attempt to smooth over the problems between her country and the Trump administration.

A new Campaign Research poll in Canada finds that 81% of Canadians said they “disapproved” of the job President Trump is doing, while 11% approved and eight per cent didn’t know.

The poll also found 72% believe Trump’s protectionist policies have “harmed” the Canadian economy, while only 3% said they have “helped.”

“Top Canadian officials, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, rushed to express support for Ambassador Kelly Craft after a package containing a suspicious substance and a death threat was mailed to the U.S. diplomat,” Bloomberg reports.

“White powder was found Thursday in a package addressed to Craft at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa and discovered by a mailroom employee at the ambassador’s residence… An expletive-filled letter containing death threats against Craft, Trump, and members of Trump’s family was also enclosed.”

New York Times: “It takes a lot to rile people in this decidedly courteous nation. But after President Trump’s parting shots against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the day he left the Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec, the country reacted with uncharacteristic outrage and defiance at a best friend’s nastiness.”

”Canadians across the political spectrum said that while the world had grown used to Mr. Trump’s social media rants, the ferocity and personal tone of the insults against Mr. Trudeau had crossed a line. Some even asked whether Canadians should boycott United States products and stop travel south of the border.”

“President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbors and deriding Canada’s prime minister as ‘very dishonest and weak,’” the New York Times reports.

“In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements.”

Bloomberg: “His comments undermine the G-7, a bloc that was once a pillar of U.S. foreign policy and has long acted as a defender of the global economic system. It could also cause fresh friction with his northern neighbor as tensions percolate over efforts to redraw the North American Free Trade Agreement.”