Prime Minister Mark Carney struck an optimistic tone as he wrapped up his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying Canada has new opportunities to seize even as U.S. President Donald Trump continued to cast doubt on the purpose of the world body.
“In every moment where there’s a crack, where there’s a rupture, there is possibility — and it’s our responsibility, it’s our opportunity as Canada in this moment to find it,” Carney told reporters Tuesday evening. “And after my visit to the United Nations General Assembly, I can assure Canadians that there is light, there are many possibilities.”
Carney had attended Trump’s roughly hour-long address to the assembly, during which the U.S. president criticized the UN as ineffective and full of “empty words.” Trump complained about technical glitches with an escalator and his TelePrompTer, before later reassuring diplomats that the U.S. still backed the UN’s potential for peace. The president also pushed back on allies, including Canada, over their coordinated effort to recognize a Palestinian state, arguing the move would reward Hamas for its October 2023 attack on Israel.
The prime minister did not hold a one-on-one meeting with Trump but did attend a reception hosted by the president for world leaders. Throughout his visit, Carney focused on meetings with CEOs and leaders from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to pursue trade diversification, a priority as Canada adjusts to Trump’s realignment of global trade through sweeping tariffs.
In a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Carney noted that Canadian and Chinese officials had recently restarted regular, constructive dialogue. “We have an opportunity in a world that is changing rapidly,” he told Li. “We have an opportunity to bring that partnership back and bring it to a new level, across a range of areas.”
Carney’s government has been working to repair relations with Beijing after both sides exchanged tariffs on steel, electric vehicles, and agricultural products. China’s duties on Canadian canola in particular have hurt Prairie farmers, making the renewed engagement especially significant.
Before leaving New York, Carney was scheduled to attend a UN summit on building a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient global economy, as well as a bilateral meeting with the prime minister of Jamaica.
For Carney, the meetings underscored his belief that amid uncertainty in global politics, Canada has room to play a larger role on the world stage — provided it acts decisively.