Canada's PM: Ties with US have turned into ‘weaknesses,’ must be corrected
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the economic and political ties with the US have turned into “weaknesses” and must be corrected.
In a video address to the Canadian nation on Sunday, Carney said, "The US has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression," Carney said in a video address titled "Forward Guidance."
"Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct," he warned.
Carney also said it was unlikely that Washington would return to its previous economic and political positions.
"Hope is not a plan, and nostalgia is not a strategy," he said, adding that Canada could not afford to bet its future on disruptions from the US.
He unveiled an ambitious economic and national security strategy aimed at drastically reducing Canadian dependence on its southern neighbor.
The plan, which Carney called "Canada Strong," aims to catalyze $1 trillion in investment, unify the country's 13 provincial economies into a single internal market, build new trade and energy corridors and double clean energy capacity.
He said Canada has already signed 20 new trade agreements across four continents in under a year, arguing the country “has what the world wants.”
Carney also announced what he described as the largest increase in Canadian defense investment in generations, pledging to rebuild and rearm the Canadian Armed Forces.
It would mark the first time since the end of the Cold War that Canada would meet the defense spending levels expected by its allies and "what we need for our defense," he stated.
The announcement builds on remarks Carney made at the Liberal Party's national convention in Montreal, where he told delegates that "the days of our military sending 70 cents of every dollar to the United States are over."
Relations between Ottawa and Washington have deteriorated sharply since Donald Trump took office, with US tariffs on Canadian goods and Trump's repeated suggestions that Canada should become the 51st US state straining ties to a breaking point.
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