Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back sharply Thursday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that “Canada lives because of the United States,” saying instead that the country prospers on its own strengths and values. Speaking in Quebec City ahead of the return of Parliament, Carney acknowledged the deep economic, security and cultural ties between the two countries but rejected the notion of dependence, declaring that “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Trump’s remarks, delivered a day earlier at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, followed Carney’s own Davos speech, which drew international attention and a rare standing ovation. In that address, Carney warned that the U.S.-led system of global governance is undergoing a “rupture,” arguing that middle powers can no longer rely on compliance or goodwill to shield them from economic and political pressure by larger states.
Without naming Trump directly, Carney said countries like Canada must recognize that the era of unquestioned American hegemony is fading and that middle powers need to chart a new course by working together to defend shared values and interests. Trump later responded in Davos, saying he had watched Carney’s speech and suggesting the Canadian prime minister should have shown more gratitude.
Addressing a domestic audience on Thursday, Carney reiterated that Canada should serve as an example at a time of democratic backsliding worldwide. While conceding that Canada cannot solve all global problems, he said it can demonstrate that another path is possible—one where openness, pluralism and democracy endure despite rising authoritarianism and exclusion.