Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has delivered a blunt rebuke of the United States under President Donald Trump, saying Canada’s ties to Washington have become a liability.
In a watershed moment for one of the world’s closest alliances, Carney declared in a 9-minute video address Sunday that Canada must chart a more independent course—invoking past episodes of U.S. expansionism to argue that relying on Washington carries enduring risks.
“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses, weaknesses that we must correct,” said Carney, a frequent target of Trump’s ire.
The 61-year-old prime minister, whose Liberal Party secured a majority government in elections last week, told Canadians, “The situation today feels unique, but we faced down threats like this before.”
He held up a small toy figure of General Isaac Brock—the British commander killed while defending what is now Canada against a U.S. invasion during the War of 1812—a gift from Canadian-American actor Mike Myers.
“Faced with the threat of an American invasion, Brock built alliances across our land and inspired what would eventually become Canada,” Carney said, before referencing other Canadian historical figures, including Chief Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader who rallied Indigenous nations across the Great Lakes to fight back against U.S. expansion during the War of 1812.
“They battled together against a common foe. And by doing so, they made our life today possible,” he continued.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Carney’s effort to cast Canada as a nation forged by resisting U.S. expansion comes as Trump, 79, has repeatedly threatened to turn Canada into the “51st state” by annexing the country, and has slapped tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles.
The increasingly erratic president has also threatened to pull out of NATO—the mutual defense alliance that includes Canada—and in January, the Financial Times reported that “very, very senior” officials in the Trump administration covertly met with far-right Canadian separatists seeking independence for the oil-rich province of Alberta.
“The U.S. has changed, and we must respond,” Carney declared in his video, adding, “It’s about taking back control of our security, our borders, and our future.”
He said that while some people may “believe we should wait it out in the hope that the United States will return to normal,” it’s evident that “nostalgia is not the strategy.”
Carney had previously used the phrase in a forceful speech rebuking a “rupture in the world order” at the Davos summit in January, which prompted Trump to disinvite Carney from joining his so-called “Board of Peace.”
