Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a speech at the World Economic Forum discussing Canada and its place in an era of what he called a great power rivalry.
During his oration, Carney stated we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition, with great powers using economic integration as weapons with tariffs as leverage, and financial infrastructure as coercion.
When asked about Carney’s talk at the forum, Dr. Asa McKercher, Hudson Chair in Canada-US Relations and associate professor of public policy and governance at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, said for the last year or so Canada’s been subject to threats from its closest neighbour and trading partner, the US.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaking at the World Economic Forum (World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard)
As for potential backlash, McKercher said the US president clearly wasn’t happy with Carney’s comments, and later rescinded Carney’s invitation to a peace summit.
McKercher said he feels Carney wanted to tell the US that as the countries head to the negotiation table, Canada has some cards to play.