Canada thrives because we are Canadian: PM Mark Carney rebukes Trump's jab

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew a clear line with Washington on Thursday, and he did so without hesitation.

Responding to US President Donald Trump’s remark at Davos that “Canada lives because of the United States,” Carney pushed back forcefully on Thursday, saying Canada’s success rests on its own foundations, not American goodwill.

“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, security and cultural exchange,” Carney said in a national address in Quebec City ahead of the new legislative session. “But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”

Switching to French, Carney invoked a familiar Quebecois refrain. “Nous sommes matres chez nous,” he said. “This is our country, this is our future. The choice is ours.”

Trump’s remark came a day after Carney delivered a high-profile speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he warned that the US-led global order was breaking down. The address earned a rare standing ovation and quickly drew Trump’s attention.

“I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful,” Trump said in Davos. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Carney did not mention Trump by name in either speech, but the target was clear. At Davos, he argued that the world was no longer moving through a smooth transition but facing a deeper rupture. “Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” he said. “The old order is not coming back.”

He said countries like Canada, which prospered during decades of American dominance, must now recognise that compliance offers no protection in an era of major power rivalry. “Great powers are weaponising economic integration,” Carney said, adding that the rules-based international system had always been unevenly enforced.

“We knew the story was partially false,” he said. “The strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. This bargain no longer works.”

Speaking again on Thursday to a domestic audience, Carney said Canada must chart its own course and act as an example at a time of global democratic backsliding. “Canada can’t solve all the world’s problems,” he said, “but we can show that another way is possible — that history doesn’t have to bend toward authoritarianism and exclusion.”

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