Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on Parliament Hill ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Mr. Carney says he stands by remarks delivered in a speech at Davos, Switzerland, which amounted to veiled criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
As cross-border tensions with Washington persist, Prime Minister Mark Carney is denying he retracted his provocative Davos speech in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump, and later said almost nothing is normal in the United States right now.
“To be absolutely clear – and I said this to the President – I meant what I said in Davos,” Mr. Carney told reporters Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to Fox News on Monday, alleged that during a call with Mr. Trump, the Prime Minister was “very aggressively walking back some of the unfortunate remarks he made at Davos.”
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Mr. Carney twice denied this Tuesday, and offered some rare commentary on the U.S. when asked if he could guarantee normal trade negotiations with Canada’s southern neighbour.
“The world has changed. Washington has changed. Almost nothing is normal in the United States. That’s the truth,” the Prime Minister told MPs.
The Canadian government has been working to contain a rift with the White House after Mr. Carney delivered a speech last week in Davos, Switzerland, which amounted to a veiled criticism of the U.S. President, blaming him for rupturing the international rules-based order.
During the speech, Mr. Carney called for middle powers to “stop pretending” the international order is still functioning and instead, build coalitions to survive in a new era where great powers prey on smaller countries to take what they want.
The Prime Minister urged countries to start publicly condemning economic coercion, even when practised by an ally, in another clear reference to the United States.
“The old order is not coming back,” he said.
Carney says he told Trump he meant what he said during his speech at the World Economic Forum and it was about responding to a 'broader set of issues.'
The Canadian Press
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Carney said the U.S. President called him on Monday to talk.
“We had a very good conversation on a wide range of subjects, ranging from the situation in Ukraine, Venezuela and Arctic security,” Mr. Carney said.
He said he explained to Mr. Trump what Canada is doing to expand export markets worldwide, including China. The President has threatened a 100-per-cent tariff on Canadian exports if Ottawa signs a free trade deal with Beijing. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said no such pact is in the works.
“I explained to him our arrangement with China. I explained to him what we’re doing: 12 new deals, four continents, in six months,” Mr. Carney said.
He said he told Mr. Trump that Canada is also ready to move forward with the scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
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Mr. Carney said he stands by his Davos speech. “It was clear. It was a broader set of issues, and Canada was the first country to understand the change in U.S. trade policy that he initiated, and we’re responding to that,” he said.
“We’re responding positively by building partnerships abroad, building at home and prepared to respond positively by building that new relationship with CUSMA,” the Prime Minister said, using another acronym for USMCA. “He understood that.”
The Prime Minister’s relationship with the President came up again later in the day during Question Period.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet asked Mr. Carney if he could guarantee Canada will have cordial and normal trade negotiations with Washington.
The Prime Minister didn’t offer any guarantees.
“Still, discussions continue with the Americans. I had a 30-minute conversation with the President of the United States last night,” Mr. Carney said.
Mr. Blanchet said the Bloc supports diversifying trade markets, but pointed out that the U.S. will remain the largest trading partner.
“Jobs are at stake. Businesses are at stake. Can he guarantee that a new trade deal will be in place by July 2026?” Mr. Blanchet asked.
“That’s the intention of the United States, Mexico and Canada,” Mr. Carney replied. “The formal negotiations will begin in a few weeks.”