Prime Minister Mark Carney attacked Donald Trump for the second time this week. This time, he directly contradicted the U.S. president’s statement that “Canada is alive because of the United States.”
On Wednesday, Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, complaining that Canada should be grateful to Carney because “Canada lives because of America.”
Mr. Carney accepted the president’s comments at the end of his opening 30-minute speech to the Liberal cabinet meeting in Quebec City on Thursday.
“Canada and the United States have a great partnership in economics, security, and rich cultural exchanges. But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States.”
“Canada thrives because we are Canadians.”
A source in his office said the line was added to his speech and was not part of his prepared remarks.
“Canada thrives because we are Canadians.”
Carney’s speech before the Cabinet meeting had the characteristics of an election campaign speech. After addressing an international audience in Davos the day before Trump, Carney’s remarks Thursday took a domestic turn, emphasizing inclusivity and equity and pledging to uphold Canadian values.
“There has been a long history of these values steadfast and thriving. Our values are not one of them,” Carney said in prepared remarks. He did not respond to reporters’ questions.
The Prime Minister asserted that “Canada must be a lighthouse, an example to the maritime world.”
“In an era of declining democracy, we can show how rights can be protected and equal freedoms can endure,” he said.
“In a time when walls are rising and borders are thickening, we can demonstrate how a country can be open and safe, welcoming and strong, principled and strong.”
“Canada thrives because we are Canadians,” Prime Minister Mark Carney responded directly to U.S. President Donald Trump in a speech in Quebec City ahead of the federal cabinet’s withdrawal. On Wednesday, President Trump told the World Economic Forum that “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Looking ahead to his return to the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Carney reiterated his promise to protect services such as childcare, dentistry and pharmacy and to stand up for vulnerable people “whether they are new, disabled or members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community”.
“Our values have to be fought for. That’s what we’re doing and Canadians are responding to that,” he said.
His speech began in the second week.Days of meetings with his front bench. The cabinet will be confined behind the stone walls of the Citadel, the prestigious military base and residence of the governor general overlooking Quebec’s capital.
Fortified in the 19th century to protect the city from U.S. military attacks, it was the site of the Quebec Conference in 1943, where Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met in secret to plan World War II strategy.
In his speech, Carney looked at some of the site’s history and praised the cooperation that emerged from the battles on the nearby Abra Plains.And I salute the progress of former prime ministers, including Martin Luther King Jr., Louis Saint Laurent, John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney, and Trudeau.
Carney reveals his priorities for the new year
Building on the promises of the Liberal Party’s platform, Mr Carney laid out his priorities for the next Congress, including stronger economic cooperation with provinces and territories, expanding the web of international trade agreements, reforming the criminal justice system, fostering artificial intelligence and investing heavily in national defence.
“Now we need to do it. We need to do it fairly and do it quickly,” Carney said, perhaps a nod to critics who have said the company needs to be supported.Comment with more results.
Poièvre says Canadians have an “H”Enough words.”
His fiercest adversaries seized on that outstanding promise.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poièvre said in a statement Thursday that Carney’s Davos speech was “eloquently spoken,” but added, “If liberal words and goodwill were tradable goods, Canada would already be the richest country on earth.”
“Enough with the words. Now we need results. Next we have to unblock the resources. Then we have to approve the pipeline,” he said.
Poièvre also said that while it’s tempting to declare relations with the United States over, the reality is that many Canadians’ jobs depend on trade with our southern neighbor.
“We owe it to these workers, their families, friends and fellow Canadians to ensure these jobs are not lost,” he said.
“But we must also remember that our trade and security partnership with the United States is centuries old and will outlast one president.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking ahead of a federal cabinet retreat in Quebec City, said Canada cannot solve all of the world’s problems, but “we can show that a different way is possible.”
Lutnick calls Carney speech ‘noise’
Historically, the prime minister meets with ministers before a new session to set priorities, but this year the tone is markedly tougher.
It will be the first time Carney and his Cabinet have met together since the House of Commons sat for the December holiday break, and it follows the prime minister’s nine days in China, Qatar and Davos.
Speaking at Davos on Tuesday, Carney referred to “American hegemony” and said world powers were using economic integration as a “weapon.”
In his high-profile speech, Mr. Carney said middle powers like Canada must work together or they will be “on the menu” of larger powers that use economic integration as a weapon.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of President Trump’s key advisers, called it “political noise.”
In an interview with Bloomberg, Lutnick suggested that if Canada continues down the path of closer economic ties with China, “we’ll see when that time comes.” [CUSMA] Do you think this year, when the renegotiation happens in the middle of the summer, the president of the United States will say, “We should continue to have the second-best deal in the world?” ”
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada will continue to expand its trading partners.
“The prime minister said a lot of things that people thought, but he had the courage to say them out loud,” Champagne told reporters from the Ravaged Citadel.
“We’ll continue to look at what we can do, but I think Canadians already understand that diversity is key.”
According to the meeting’s official agenda, ministers will focus on the economy, affordability and security, with ministers and the secretary of state expected to discuss progress on the mission.