Newly installed Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that his country’s “old relationship” with the United States “is over” as President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to damage the Canadian economy.
During a press conference, Carney, who won his position atop the Liberal Party earlier this month after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down, said that he plans to “fight the U.S. tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada.” The new prime minister added, “The old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations, is over.”
“What exactly the United States does next is unclear, but what is clear is that we Canadians have agency. We have power,” Carney continued. “We are masters in our own home. We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away.”
While Americans’ wallets could be affected by President Trump’s trade war with Canada, the tariffs will likely hurt Canadian workers and consumers much more since Canada relies heavily on exporting to the United States, sending 75% of its exports to America, according to Reuters. Carney admitted that Canada “will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States” as the tariffs go into effect.
“We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere,” the prime minister said. “And we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”
Carney said he received a call from the White House on Wednesday to set up discussions with President Trump. He added, “It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we will be able to restore some trust, but there will be no turning back.” Trump, who has repeatedly suggested making Canada the 51st state, threatened on Thursday that Canada and the European Union would be hit with tariffs “far larger than currently planned” if they seek “to do economic harm to the USA.”
Trump’s relationship with Canada’s former prime minister, Trudeau, was often tense, and after his election victory in November, the president began referring to Trudeau as “governor.” It appears that Canada’s change of prime minister will not alter its approach to negotiations with the United States on tariffs. Carney will be tasked with developing a relationship with Trump in the coming weeks as he also runs to hold onto power in the upcoming Canadian federal election, which will take place on April 28. Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, are challenging Carney and his Liberal Party.
