Prime Minister Mark Carney provided a frank assessment of Canada’s relationship with the United States on Sunday, saying while it was once considered a strength, it has now become our weakness and that it’s time to take back control of our own future.
Carney used an almost 10-minute address on social media dubbed “Forward Guidance with Prime Minister Mark Carney,” to tell Canadians that the uncertainty created by the United States is “hanging over all of us” and that no matter how challenging the situation seemed, his government has a plan.
“The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct,” said Carney.
“We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner. We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbours. We can’t bet our future on the hope that it will suddenly stop. But we can control what happens here.”
Carney says the U.S. has changed and “we must respond,” and he continued to pitch his government’s plan, which includes attracting new investments and striking new partnerships in order to sell into new markets, pointing out that his government has signed 20 new deals on four continents in the last year.
On Friday, Carney announced a new “Canada Investment Summit” that will invite investors, CEOs and business leaders to Toronto this fall with the goal of pulling in $1 trillion in investment over the next five years to advance nation-building projects.
In the video, Carney reiterated that the goal is to create one Canadian economy out of 13 while building new energy corridors and doubling the size of Canada’s clean energy capacity.
Carney says it would be wrong to try to wait for the U.S. to return to “normal” and resume decades of co-operation from the past, saying “Hope isn’t a plan and nostalgia is not a strategy.”
The prime minister also noted that younger Canadians have not known a time when the world was stable, with the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also said the country can find inspiration in triumphing over historical challenges in the past, drawing from examples of pushing back on American military incursions by leaders during in the War of 1812 and by “Indigenous heroes such as Chief Tecumseh.”
Carney closed his address by saying that while the government’s plan is “gaining momentum,” it is also going to take time.
“We are not going to fix all our problems tomorrow, and there will be setbacks along the way,” he said. “The way we’re going to get through this is together. We will get through this because of who we have always been, a country of tough, decent, caring people.
Carney’s comments come days after forming a majority in Parliament, and as the Conservatives push Carney to deliver a U.S. trade deal, which was among his promises in last year’s election.
Speaking to the House of Commons international trade committee Thursday, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the Canadian government is prepared to quickly sign a deal that’s in the interest of the Canadian economy.
“It is moving forward,” he said in French. “We’re not just in contact with the Americans. Things are also moving forward with our counterparts in Mexico.”