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.
Justin Trudeau's unelected successor Mark Carney declares: "While America wages a war on woke, Canadians will continue to value inclusiveness." pic.twitter.com/FmMDzF5xok
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 10, 2025
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.
Carney nonetheless accused President Trump of attempting to “break” Canada to colonize it.
“I reject any attempts to weaken Canada. To wear us down, to break us so that America can own us. That will never happen. And our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, to protect, and to build,” he asserted in remarks shared by his campaign.
Carney’s campaign has focused on linking the rival Conservative Party to Trump, who he is prominently campaigning against. Trump himself, however, has expressed no fondness for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and said in a recent interview with Fox News that he would prefer Carney remain prime minister.
“The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine. I don’t know him, but he said negative things. So, when he says negative things, I couldn’t care less,” Trump said. “I think it’s easier to deal, actually, with a Liberal … I’d rather deal with a Liberal.”
Canada PM Mark Carney Promises Zelensky More Support for Ukrainehttps://t.co/YJZ1YNZhAc
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 17, 2025
Notably absent from Carney’s recent remarks were similar criticisms of Canada’s relationship with China. While Trump has imposed some tariffs on Canadian goods in response to the Trudeau administration’s catastrophic failure in securing the countries’ mutual border, China launched a trade war with Canada this year, imposing tariffs on over $2 billion in Canadian goods this month.
Unlike America, China has also admitted to the brutal slaughter of Canadian citizens – at least four in 2025 – accused of nebulous alleged “drug-related” crimes. Carney’s government issued a mild criticism of the execution of its citizens but has not taken any concrete actions in response. Beijing, in turn, has accused Canada of attempting to violate Chinese sovereignty by requesting that China not kill its citizens.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned shortly after the campaign season began this month that China is a top foreign interference threat in the election, alongside India, whose relations with Canada deteriorated prominently under Trudeau. Carney’s Liberal Party has attempted to accuse the Conservative Party and its leader Pierre Poilievre of benefitting from Indian election interference, claims Poilievre has rejected, yet Carney has not encountered at press time any meaningful pressure on his potential ties to China, save for Poilievre questioning his relationship with the Communist Party.
Poilievre on Tuesday highlighted Carney’s role at a private firm, Brookfield Asset Management, before abruptly becoming an unelected prime minister. Brookfield reportedly secured a massive $276-million loan from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) as recently as November, reportedly intended to help secure Brookfield’s control of real estate assets in Shanghai.
“What did Mr. Carney, in his role as Trudeau’s economic advisor, offer to China?” Poilievre asked in remarks on Tuesday.
“How do we know (Carney’s) not going to act against our interests in favour of his financial interest? Why didn’t he stand in front of a microphone and confess to Canadians that he owes the Chinese Government that kind of money?” Poilievre continued.
Carney has not explained his role in that loan, or addressed concerns about foreign interference, since the Conservatives raised the issue.