President Trump kicked off three days of meetings in Canada, saying "our primary focus will be trade," but with minimal evidence of progress to offer on long-promised deals as his "Liberation Day 2.0" deadline draws closer.

"I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff person," Trump offered at the start of a G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, during an appearance Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

For the president, it was just the first in what is set to be a marathon series of meetings with other trade-focused nations such as Germany, Mexico, the UK, and others on the docket.

Monday's gathering with Carney also saw Trump say the two men had a good relationship while acknowledging what he called a different approach to trade. He suggested a deal could still be possible and said of the dueling approaches, "We're going to look at both."

Monday's remarks offered a kickoff to what is expected to be an eventful week ahead. The larger G7 gathering is set to focus largely on national security issues — such as strikes between Israel and Iran and the war in Ukraine — but Trump repeatedly underlined Monday that tariffs are front and center for him.

The trade focus comes as at least some market watchers are warning of potential new tensions that could be around the corner, especially if few or no deals materialize.

As Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research put it in a note Monday, "President Donald Trump doesn't seem as ready to pivot away from his trade war as hoped," adding that tensions could move back to the front burner "this week or next."