Prime Minister Mark Carney is refuting a claim that he retracted his statements made in Davos, Switzerland, last week during a discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. Carney asserted that he stood by his Davos remarks during a meeting with his cabinet on Tuesday, emphasizing to the president that there was no change in his position. He mentioned that he and Trump had a productive 30-minute conversation covering various topics such as Arctic security, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
Carney highlighted that he informed Trump about Canada being the first country to acknowledge Trump’s new trade policy direction and expressed Canada’s positive response to the changes. He elaborated on Canada’s trade deals across multiple continents and its future plans. Additionally, Carney discussed the upcoming review of CUSMA and Canada’s strategy to forge new relationships within the U.S.
During a segment on Fox News’ “Hannity” show, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that Carney was retracting his Davos speech while conversing with Trump. Carney’s Davos speech focused on the evolving international order and the importance for middle powers like Canada to collaborate to avoid being dominated by major powers.
Carney’s speech emphasized the significance of middle powers uniting to establish a distinct path amidst great power rivalry. He warned about the challenges faced by countries in between powerful nations and the need to redefine traditional assumptions of prosperity and security.
The absence of an official readout of Carney’s conversation with Trump drew criticism from Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong, who stressed the importance of transparency in such communications. Chong urged the Prime Minister’s Office to provide written details of the discussions to ensure clarity, citing the existence of conflicting accounts of the conversation. Carney’s office did not issue readouts for every interaction with Trump or other leaders, and the White House also refrained from releasing a readout of Trump’s call with Carney.