Mohan Sinha
21 Apr 2026, 23:34 GMT+10
VANCOUVER, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released on April 19 that the United States had changed and Canada needed to respond by taking control of its own security, borders, and future.
He said that Canada's strong economic ties with the United States were once a strength but had now become a weakness that needed to be fixed.
In his 10-minute speech, Carney discussed his government's plans to strengthen the economy by attracting new investment and signing trade deals with other countries.
He said that the world had become more dangerous and divided, and that the United States had changed its trade approach by raising tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. He added that many of Canada's earlier strengths, based on close ties with the U.S., had now turned into weaknesses that needed correction.
Carney said that tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump had hurt workers in the automobile and steel industries. He also said that businesses were delaying investments because of the uncertainty hanging over everyone.
He added that many Canadians were upset by Trump's comments suggesting that Canada should become the 51st state.
Carney said that security could not be achieved by ignoring or downplaying the real threats facing Canadians, and he promised not to hide or soften the challenges.
It was not the first time Carney, who had earlier served as governor of the Bank of Canada and later as governor of the Bank of England, had spoken about changes in global power.
During a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he was widely praised for criticizing powerful countries for using economic pressure against smaller nations.
His remarks drew a sharp response from Trump, who said that Canada depended on the United States for its existence and told Carney to remember that before making such statements.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Carney's speech.
Carney made these comments a few days after winning a majority government in special elections, as the opposition Conservatives continued to push him to deliver a trade deal with the U.S., which had been one of his election promises.
A review of the current North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico is planned for July.
In his speech, Carney said he wanted to attract new investments, double clean energy capacity, and reduce trade barriers within Canada. He also highlighted increased defense spending, tax cuts, and efforts to make housing more affordable.
He said that Canada needed to take care of itself because it could no longer depend on a single foreign partner. He added that Canada could not control disruptions coming from its neighbors or rely on the hope that they would stop suddenly. Instead, he said the country could control what happens within its borders and build a stronger nation capable of handling external disruptions.
Carney said that simply hoping the United States would return to normal was not a practical plan, adding that hope was not a strategy and nostalgia was not a solution.
He also said that Canada had been a good neighbor to the U.S., supporting it in conflicts such as the wars in Afghanistan and the two World Wars.
Carney said he plans to give Canadians regular updates on his government's efforts to diversify away from the U.S.
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