Amid tussle between the two countries, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday congratulated Mark Carney on victory in the Canadian national elections.
The Canadian Prime Minister’s Office in a statement said that the two leaders also “agreed to meet in person in the near future.”
“Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. President Trump congratulated Prime Minister Carney on his recent election,” the statement read.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together – as independent, sovereign nations – for their mutual betterment. To that end, the leaders agreed to meet in person in the near future,” it added.
This comes amid sour relations between US and Canada after Trump targeted its neighbour with tariff and sovereignty threats
The threats, subsequently, galvanised Canadian opposition. His social media post about making Canada the 51st state on election day proved particularly controversial.
Soon after the results, Carney claimed that Trump is trying to break the country so that America can own them.
“As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. Never. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, ever happen,” Carney had said.
The Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, secured an improbable fourth consecutive term. While they fell short of a majority, winning approximately 168 seats in the expanded 343-seat House of Commons, it was a clear mandate against populism, external interference, and political instability.
The Conservatives finished second with around 143 seats, while the Bloc Québécois fell to about 23, and the New Democratic Party (NDP) was reduced to just 7 seats. Voter turnout surged, fuelled largely by concerns over Canadian sovereignty and an unusually intense focus on domestic unity in the face of global uncertainties.

Vietnamese veterans take part in a parade during the 50th anniversary celebration of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
| Photo Credit: AP

Vietnam celebrated the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation 50 years ago Wednesday (April 30, 2025) with a military parade and a focus on a future of peace.

Thousands camped overnight on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City — once known as Saigon — to watch the parade, drinking strong black coffee and their faces painted with the Vietnamese flag. The parade included a float that carried the Lac Bird, Vietnam’s emblem, another carrying a portrait of Ho Chi Minh and finally one that represented 50 years of reunification between North and South Vietnam.

Vietnamese troops march during a parade to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war. Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where the war ended when a North Vietnamese tank smashed through its gates.

Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.

Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam said the victory was a “glorious landmark,” ending a 30-year fight for independence and ending colonialism, and he gave credit to the former Soviet Union, China, Laos and Cambodia.

A float depicting a tank is carried in a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on April 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP

“We will have to respect the past and respect differences… we are desperate to build a future for peace, (and) do everything we can do so the future generation can have a better world,” he said.

The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.

“The war still defines Vietnam’s unity, and its unresolved divides,” Giang said.

Pham Ngoc Son is a 69-year-old veteran who was an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south through the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret route used by North Vietnam. He’s on a weeklong tour of the city, which he remembers entering as a part of the northern troops that took over.

He said he cherished those memories and couldn’t describe the joy he felt at that moment. But now there was ”only space for peace and friendship” between the U.S. and Vietnam.

“The war is over a long time ago,” he said.

Nguyen Thi Hue, a resident of Ho Chi Minh city, agreed.

“The war has ended and we shake hands (with the former enemy) for development. Now it’s time for peace. Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants,” Hue said.

This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the United States. In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the U.S. to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia.

Also read: Vietnam seeks more free trade deals to drive growth as Trump tariff looms

Vietnamese officials insist that this relationship has been built on a bedrock of trust intrinsically linked to U.S. efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange and unexploded bombs in the countryside that still threaten lives. The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Moreover, the export-dependent country is vulnerable in a global economy made fragile by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.

A woman is photographed with a photo of the late wartime Vietnamese Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap as another person holds a photo of the late Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, left, after a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
| Photo Credit:
AP

About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans and local citizens, were taking part in the parade. The route follows the main boulevard leading to the Independence Palace before branching into city streets and will pass the U.S. Consulate.

A video of Chinese troops singing the iconic “As If Uncle Ho Were With Us on Victory Day” during a rehearsal was shared widely on social media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had visited Vietnam earlier in the month in a bid to present the country as a force for stability in contrast with Trump.

Close ties with Washington helped Vietnam balance its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank. Vietnam is among the countries involved in maritime disputes related to the South China Sea.

But the Trump administration’s focus on tariffs — Vietnam was slammed with reciprocal tariffs of 46%, one of the highest — puts a “big question mark” on what the U.S. wants to achieve in Asia, she said. Focus on economic and not strategic competition may mean that Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia become less important for the U.S.

“It really will be shaping up (on) how the new administration sees the strategic picture in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam would fit in,” she said.

An Indian-origin tech entrepreneur from Mysuru allegedly shot and killed his wife and one of his sons before taking his own life at their home in Newcastle, Washington, on April 24.
The victims have been identified as Harshavardhana S Kikkeri, 57, his wife Shwetha Panyam, 44, and their 14-year-old son. The family had been living in the US for several years, The Renton Reporter noted.
According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a 911 call on the evening of April 24 and discovered three bodies inside the family’s townhouse in the 7000 block of 129th Street SE.
Harshavardhana’s wife Shwetha and their son died from gunshot wounds and their deaths were ruled as homicides, while he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which was classified as a suicide, the King County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The motive behind the crime is yet to be revealed. The couple’s younger son survived the incident.
Harshavardhana, originally from Kikkeri village in Karnataka’s Mandya district, was CEO of HoloWorld, a now-closed robotics company based in Mysuru.
He co-founded HoloWorld with his wife in 2017 after moving back to India. The company, which focused on AI and robotics and was shut down in 2022.
Local neighbors were stunned. “A young family lived in the home,” said Cathy Dunbar in an interview with KOMO News. Deputies remained at the scene until early morning hours following the discovery.
Harshavardhana, a graduate of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering in Mysuru had earlier worked with Microsoft in US, focusing on robotics.