Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hit back Thursday (January 22, 2026) at U.S. President Donald Trump’s inflammatory claim at the World Economic Forum that “Canada lives because of the United States.”
“Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” Mr. Carney responded in a national address in Quebec City ahead of a new legislative session, even as he acknowledged the “remarkable partnership” between the two nations.
Mr. Carney’s comments on Thursday (January 22, 2026) followed his speech at the forum of political and financial elites in Davos, Switzerland, where he won a standing ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the U.S.-led, rules-based global order.
That speech on Tuesday (January 20, 2026), which made world headlines, was widely viewed as a reference to Mr. Trump’s disruptive influence on international affairs, although he was not mentioned by name.
Mr. Carney told Davos that middle powers like Canada, who had prospered through the era of an “American hegemon” needed to realise that a new reality had set in and that “compliance” would not shelter them from major power aggression.
Mr. Trump took umbrage and taunted Carney during his own speech a day later.
“I watched your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful,” the U.S. President said on Wednesday (January 21, 2026).
“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
In Mr. Carney’s speech on Thursday (January 22, 2026), aimed at a domestic audience, he said that Canada should serve as a model in an era of “democratic decline”.
“Canada can’t solve all the world’s problems, but we can show that another way is possible, that the arc of history isn’t destined to be warped towards authoritarianism and exclusion,” the Prime Minister said.
