After President Donald Trump told Davos attendees that “Canada lives because of the United States,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a firm response.
In a filmed statement delivered upon his return to Quebec City on Thursday, Carney—who also attended the World Economic Forum in Switzerland—stated firmly: “Canada does not live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Arguing that diversity is “a strength, not a weakness,” Carney maintained that Canada is “the greatest country in the world to be an ordinary person” and said one doesn’t need to be rich, “have a certain skin color,” or “worship a certain deity” to thrive.
Although he celebrated the long-standing partnership between the U.S. and Canada, Carney emphasized: “We are in control in our own land, this is our own country, it’s our future, and the choice is ours.”
Trump later withdrew his invitation for Canada to [unclear what was originally here], which he announced in Davos on Thursday after Carney had left the annual forum.
“Please let this letter serve to indicate that the Board of Peace is retracting its invitation to you regarding Canada’s participation in what will be the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump said via Truth Social. (Carney had said earlier in the week that he had received an invitation to join the Board of Peace but did not confirm if he intended to accept.)
Trump had previously criticized Canada during his Davos address on Wednesday, accusing the country of getting “a lot of handouts” from the U.S. and saying they should be “grateful.”
“I watched your Prime Minister yesterday, and he wasn’t very grateful,” Trump told the audience, referring to the speech Carney had given the day before.
Although Carney didn’t mention Trump by name, there seemed to be pointed references to the U.S. President throughout his own poignant speech.
In a bold statement that sparked much discussion, Carney said the old world order is “not returning.” Encouraging people not to “lament” the way things used to be, he advised that “nostalgia is not a strategy.”
Carney also urged middle powers to assert themselves, accusing “great powers” of using economic pressure to achieve results.
“More recently, great powers have started using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” he said.
This followed Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European allies until Denmark agrees to sell Greenland to the U.S.—a threat he has since [unclear what was meant by ‘on’].
Carney [unclear what was meant by the verb here] Trump’s global tariff threats last year during his country’s general election. His platform also strongly opposed Trump’s annexation threats against Canada.
Trump frequently—and publicly—[unclear what was meant here] and wanted it to become the “51st state” upon returning to the White House. Both Carney and his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, were firm that the annexation of Canada is not something they would permit to occur. During Trudeau’s tenure, Trump took to referring to him as “” rather than recognizing him as the Prime Minister of Canada.
Carney and Trump have tried to build a better working relationship and have even shared lighthearted moments in front of the world press.
In October, when Trump [unclear what was meant here] referred to Carney as a “President,” Carney joked: “I’m glad you upgraded me to President.” To which Trump replied: “At least I didn’t say Governor!”
However, as Carney has since expressed Canada’s full support for Greenland and Denmark maintaining their “Arctic sovereignty,” and amid tense disagreements over tariff threats, the relationship between the two leaders has become strained again.
