in World News Canada’s Leftist, Unelected PM Carney: ‘Old Relationship with U.S.’ Is Over
by Frances Martel
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who assumed the position this month with no mandate after radical leftist predecessor Justin Trudeau resigned, announced in an angry speech on Thursday that, under his watch, the traditionally friendly American-Canadian relationship was “over.”
Carney, who is running to keep his position in a general election scheduled for April 28, blamed President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports for the deterioration in ties, announcing that it was time for Canada’s economy to decouple from America and find prosperity elsewhere.
He did not specify exactly what partners he hoped to fill the gargantuan void that the United States would leave in the Canadian economy, as the nation’s top trade partner, if he cut ties.
“We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States,” he emphasized. “We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere.”
“There will be no turning back,” he asserted.
Carney made clear that he did not seek only economic decoupling from America, mentioning military cooperation as a field where he hoped to cut ties with Washington. Canada is an American ally through the NATO partnership, one routinely identified as among the most negligent and least prepared for war of the NATO community.
“Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy,” Carney told Canadians. “We will need to ensure Canada can succeed in a drastically different world. The old relationship we had with the U.S. based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military co-operation is over.”
Carney claimed the move was necessary because America “is no longer a reliable partner.”
“We won’t back down. We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country,” he added.
Carney’s remarks triggered significant alarm on social media, where Canadians wondered if ending cordial relations with America would result in economic and political suicide. The speech also raised questions about Carney’s perception of the United States as a political outsider. Carney never held any other public office before becoming prime minister this month and spent most of his career in the financial shadows, leading the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. He also featured as a prominent shadow adviser to Trudeau on issues such as climate alarmism and the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.