Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has amped up the anti-US rhetoric since swooping in to replace Justin Trudeau at the helm of the Liberal Party, saying this week the Great White North doesn’t need the US.
Carney said he’s looking to diversify trade partnerships with like-minded countries and that Canada stands to gain “far more than Donald Trump can ever take away” — a change in tone from Trudeau, who tried to get Trump to back off on tariffs by calling it “a very dumb thing to do.”
“We must react with a crushing force,” Carney said during a leaders debate in Montreal Wednesday, repeatedly calling the trade war “the most important crisis of our lives.”
The former central banker said Canada’s relationship with the US as we know it is over.
“The relationship we’ve had with the US over the last four decades has fundamentally changed.”
Trump appears to have dropped the ‘governor’ taunt he trolled Trudeau with and has been referring to Carney by his actual title – though this week White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected claims Trump had toned down his 51st-state rhetoric.
Carney – who snubbed Washington and chose Europe as his first international trip as prime minister last month – met French President Macron and UK Prime Minister Starmer, and during the debate said he’s seeking trade deals with the EU to replace the US, where 50% of Canadian imports currently come from.
“Canada has to create new options,” he said, adding he’s looking for more “reliable” trading partners.
Carney also revealed he’s been boycotting US goods – as have many Canadians – including US wines and spirits.
Canadian party leaders faced off in a debate this week ahead of a snap federal election called for April 28. Polls currently show Carney leading Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre by about six percentage points.
