Canada’s Carney fires back at Trump after
Davos speech 1 of 6 | Canadian Prime Minister
Mark Carney responded to U.S. President
Donald Trump’s comment that “
Canada lives because of the
United States” on Thursday by saying
Canada thrives because of Canadian values. 2 of 6 | Prime Minister
Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a Cabinet Planning Forum at the Citadelle in
Quebec City, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press via AP) 3 of 6 | President
Donald Trump applauses during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) 4 of 6 |
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney delivers a speech at the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) 5 of 6 |
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney departs
Zurich,
Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after attending the annual
World Economic Forum in
Davos. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) 6 of 6 | President
Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard
Air Force One after leaving the
World Economic Forum in
Davos for Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) 1 of 6 Canadian Prime Minister
Mark Carney responded to U.S. President
Donald Trump’s comment that “
Canada lives because of the
United States” on Thursday by saying
Canada thrives because of Canadian values. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 6 Prime Minister
Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a Cabinet Planning Forum at the Citadelle in
Quebec City, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 6 President
Donald Trump applauses during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 6
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney delivers a speech at the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 6
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney departs
Zurich,
Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after attending the annual
World Economic Forum in
Davos. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 6 President
Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard
Air Force One after leaving the
World Economic Forum in
Davos for Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister
Mark Carney responded to U.S. President
Donald Trump comment that “
Canada lives because of the
United States” on Thursday by saying
Canada thrives because of Canadian values. Carney said
Canada can show the world that the future doesn’t have to be autocratic after returning from
Davos where he gave a speech that garnered widespread attention. President
Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard
Air Force One after leaving the
World Economic Forum in
Davos for Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President
Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard
Air Force One after leaving the
World Economic Forum in
Davos for Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In
Davos at the
World Economic Forum, Carney condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries without mentioning Trump’s name. Upon returning home to
Canada, Carney responded to Trump directly by referencing Trump’s remarks in
Davos. “
Canada lives because of the
United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.” “
Canada doesn’t live because of the
United States.
Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” Carney responded Thursday.
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney delivers a speech at the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney delivers a speech at the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Carney said
Canada and the U.S. have built a remarkable partnership in the areas of economy, security and rich cultural exchange, but said “we are masters in our home, this is our own country, it’s our future, the choice is up to us.”Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney to join his Board of Peace. “Dear Prime Minister Carney: Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding
Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump posted on social media.
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney departs
Zurich,
Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after attending the annual
World Economic Forum in
Davos. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada Prime Minister
Mark Carney departs
Zurich,
Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, after attending the annual
World Economic Forum in
Davos. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Carney left
Davos before Trump inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas. Trump has talked about making
Canada the 51st state and posted this week an altered image of a map of the U.S. that includes
Canada, Greenland, Venezuela and Cuba as part of its territory. President
Donald Trump applauses during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) President
Donald Trump applauses during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the
World Economic Forum in
Davos,
Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Trump said in
Davos that
Canada gets many “freebies” from the U.S. and “should be grateful.” He said Carney’s
Davos speech showed he “wasn’t so grateful.”Trump said
Canada wants to participate in “Golden Dome” — a multibillion dollar missile defense system that he says will be operational before his term ends in 2029.In a speech before a cabinet retreat in
Quebec City, Carney said staying true to
Canada’s values is key to maintaining its sovereignty.“We can show that another way is possible, that the arc of history isn’t destined to be warped toward authoritarianism and exclusion; it can still bend toward progress and justice,” Carney said. Carney said “
Canada must be a beacon — an example to a world at sea.” Prime Minister
Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a Cabinet Planning Forum at the Citadelle in
Quebec City, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press via AP) Prime Minister
Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a Cabinet Planning Forum at the Citadelle in
Quebec City, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Jacques Boissinot /The Canadian Press via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Carney said in a time of rising populism and ethnic nationalism,
Canada can show how diversity is a strength, not a weakness. “There are billions of people who aspire to what we have built: a pluralistic society that works,” Carney said.He said
Canada delivers shared prosperity and has a democracy that chooses to protect the vulnerable against the powerful.“It’s a great country for everyone. It is the greatest country in the world to be a regular person. You don’t have to be born rich, or to a landed family. You don’t have to be a certain color or worship a certain god,” he said.U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier complained about Carney’s speech at the
World Economic Forum.“Give me a break,” Lutnick said on Bloomberg TV. “They have the second best deal in the world and all I got to do is listen to this guy whine and complain.”
Canada has been shielded from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariffs by the
Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as USMCA, but the agreement is up for a mandatory review this year. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, told the forum that multiple leaders in the
United States sent him transcripts of Carney’s speech. “I respect what Carney did because he had courage of convictions. He stood up and I think we need to stand up in America and call this out with clarity,” Newsom said. “We can lose our republic as we know it. Our country can become unrecognizable.”Newsom said that fact that Carney came back from China with a deal to introduce low, cost high quality electric vehicles into
Canada, not made from Michigan, but from overseas shows how reckless Trump’s foreign policy is. “It’s a remarkable thing to break down 80-plus years of alliances,” he said.