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PM Carney declares U.S. ties now a 'weakness' in address to Canadians
- lo_fye 6mo agoIt wasn’t a surprise to us. It’s how Canadians already feel. Threaten our sovereignty and that’s what happens.
- nomdep 6mo ago[flagged]
- CalRobert 6mo ago…yes? This is literally something the US administration has openly discussed.
- deeg 6mo agoI'm hoping it was sarcasm but these days you never know.
- aggakake 6mo agoFrom a Trump speech "Canada called me a couple of weeks ago. They want to be part of it. To which I said, well, why don't you just join our country? Become 51, become the 51st state and you get it for free," Numerous other examples if you are honestly asking for evidence.
- nomdep 6mo ago[flagged]
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- junon 6mo agoThat is the official stance of the US president, yes.
- throwatdem12311 6mo agoOr maybe it was Trump saying multiple times that he wanted to make Canada a state?!
- abacadaba 6mo ago[flagged]
- CoastalCoder 6mo agoMy dear friends to the north: I just want to repeat how sorry many of us are for this.
- deeg 6mo agoAnd that some of us are trying to change the situation. My reps have heard from me multiple times.
- xena 6mo agoAh yes, strongly worded letters. That is the way to fix things. They must be trembling in fear at the weight of your words.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- AndrewDucker 6mo agoWhat do you suggest?
- cherry_tree 6mo ago* focus locally; getting invoked with local politics by supporting local candidates with your time and effort - the state department runs programs to talk to city and state officials concerning foreign policy matters and city’s and local governments can create pressure on federal representatives from those states. * vote with your wallet; boycotts and divestments are tools ordinary people have to effect conglomerates. Ensure your retirement money is not invested with companies engaging with the political ideas you do not agree with * protest; attending in person events shows leaders numbers and images that are harder to ignore than their consultants’ polling data.
- deeg 6mo agoI've done all of those and while I think they are important i believe it's most important to let politicians know, otherwise they rely too much on money.
- calmbonsai 6mo agoGood. Many Canadians view Carney as a "war-time" PM and I think that's accurate. The Trump administration has treated Canada and Canadians appallingly. It will take many years and another President, but I hope the U.S. can repair relations. The onus is on us. Canada honored its commitments. The U.S. started this stupid trade war.
- throwatdem12311 6mo agoIt’s gonna take more than a dem POTUS sucking up to us to fix this. MAGA will outlast Trump and the everlasting threat of another lunatic Republican president doing this crap again means this isn’t going away as easily as replacing a president.
- hyperman1 6mo agoBefore Trump, there was Bush Jr. The world's view on him was also dim, but 9/11/2001 made the world cut the USA a lot of slack. It turns out he was the new normal, instead of a temporary savage spot. Trump is not the only USA leader in the back of the world's mind.
- wk_end 6mo agoBush II was awful in all sorts of ways; it's not crazy to say that as chaotic as Trump's first presidency was, it was nowhere near as destructive as Bush's terms. I in no way want to white-wash Bush, which I feel like some people have done in the wake of Trump. But despite that, Bush's presidency was generally continuous with American presidencies since World War II. He still, at root, steered the ship as though he were a believer in the narrative of America as a leader of the free world, rather than as a selfish actor who needs to get one over on everyone else in order to get ahead. Regardless of the world's judgement of Bush, I don't think it sowed much doubt in many minds about their overall relationship with America, and not just because of 9/11 or because he was just one president. The US could have continued electing Bushes forever and not much would have changed. Whereas: Trump's presidency - especially this second term - is utterly destabilizing. He's single-handedly destroyed America's soft power and place in the world.
- CalRobert 6mo agoInteresting that this comes as millions of Americans discover they have a claim to a Canadian passport thanks to recent rule changes. If they play they hand right (and maybe actually build housing) Canada could benefit from American brain drain.
- bsimpson 6mo agoThis comment made me learn that I wouldn't have been eligible, but am now. (Grandpa was born in Canada.)
- hervature 6mo agoI am a Canadian and I think you are demonstrating an unreal amount of cope thinking that this will have any meaningful impact on migration trends. The NAFTA agreement (and followups) allow the free-flow of professionals between the countries. Any "brain" that wanted to flee could already do so.
- CalRobert 6mo agoPerhaps, but as someone who has gone through the "highly skilled migrant" route (not to Canada though) it definitely is _much_ higher friction than just showing up with a passport.
- AlexandrB 6mo agoI wouldn't make that move. The future is not looking bright: https://www.bcbc.com/insight/oecd-predicts-canada-will-be-the-worst-performing-advanced-economy-over-the-next-decade-and-the-three-decades-after-that https://www.bcbc.com/insight/oecd-predicts-canada-will-be-th...
- CalRobert 6mo agoWell I suppose it depends on how much value you place upon living in a functioning democracy.
- fatbird 6mo agoYour link is 5 years old. This one is 3 days old: "IMF sees Canada's fiscal position as strongest in G7" [0] [0] https://financialpost.com/news/economy/imf-sees-canadas-finances-strongest-in-g7 https://financialpost.com/news/economy/imf-sees-canadas-fina...
- jmyeet 6mo agoFor additional context: - Carney's Davos speech (Jan 2026) evoked "workers of the world unite" [1]; - Carney's pre-election speech (Mar 2025) claimed the old relationship with the US is over [2]; and - Trump's handling of Canada relations, particularly with the tariff frenzy, basically ended up giving the election to Carney [3]. This administration is busy destroying the relationships and institutions that the US created for America's interests like NATO. [1]: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-by-mark-carney-prime-minister-of-canada/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-a... [2]: https://speakola.com/political/mark-carney-response-to-trump-tarriffs-canada-strong-2025 https://speakola.com/political/mark-carney-response-to-trump... [3]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypz7yx73wo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypz7yx73wo
- wk_end 6mo ago> Carney's Davos speech (Jan 2026) evoked "workers of the world unite" No it didn't. He gave it as an example of something people behind the Iron Curtain didn’t believe but parroted "to avoid trouble, to signal compliance, to get along". The man is a banker. The implication that Carney - arguably the most neoliberal leader Canada has ever seen - is a communist is absurd.
- negura 6mo agoyeah exactly. it's bizarre to highlight that quote from his davos speech completley out of context. he inteded it as a way to completely discredit communism. and to ridicule the idea of unionization. he then spent 10 minutes passionately making the case for continuing the neoliberal capitalist agenda
- wk_end 6mo agoThat is...also a misrepresentation of what Carney was saying. He was referencing the words of a writer from Czechia, a country where communism discredited itself, who discussed how people pretended not to notice the gap between the government's rhetoric and its actions, and compared it to how countries politely have pretended to ignore the gap between the aspirations of the "rules-based international order" and how it played out in practice. Of course, he could have used as an example a different dissident who said something similar from a different country who operated under a different totalitarian regime. Or skipped the analogy to political repression altogether. You could say that reflects Carney's particular biases, I guess, but I wouldn't go further than that. At no point does he ridicule or even mention unionization.
- darepublic 6mo agoAs a Canadian I feel like this country has some problems that contribute to the brain drain south. And I feel like Trump is definitely not our friend but the situation could have been helpful to stir us up to self reflection. But I fear that instead we will just try to recreate the former status quo by whatever means and call that a victory. But what it means is the inevitable decline of this country.
- CalRobert 6mo agoIf it helps, it seems like half my family (well educated US-Ian’s) have a cit0001 application in to reverse the brain drain
- Kareem71 6mo agoAs a Canadian I am afraid that the more bad behavior the USA exhibits on the world stage, the easier it becomes to scapegoat and not look within at our own problems. It was maybe 15ish years ago when Blackberry was at its peak. A world with such a dominant tech company in Canada today seems comically impossible
- wk_end 6mo agoThis seems like such a strange comment to make on an article about the leader of Canada advocating for exactly the sort of national reflection you’re talking about and explicitly calling for an end to that status quo you’re worried we’ll try to recreate.
- lostmsu 6mo ago> advocating for Is a lot of words, but little actions.
- AlexandrB 6mo agoSo far the major move has been undermining Canada's auto industry[1] to create closer ties to China. As the saying goes: Out of the frying pan, into the fire. [1] https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/01/18/mark-carney-says-chinese-ev-deal-an-opportunity-for-ontario-and-auto-sector/ https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/01/18/mark-carney-says-chin...
- SadErn 6mo ago[dead]
- Teever 6mo agoThe speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2TZwkhi4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2TZwkhi4E First off, the difference in diction between PM Mark Carney and other world leaders is startling. Clear, cogent reasoning with rhetoric meant to impart on the listener that the speaker respects them and the presentation of an actual plan instead of just concepts of one is refreshing. Second. I've been finding it more and more difficult to communicate online with Americans or people who have succumbed to contemporary American-brained thinking. There's something corrosive about being surrounded by slurred, infantile thinking, it seems like even the most intelligent people will eventually succumb to it and regurgitate it back because they see it as the easy road and suffer no immediate consequences for doing so. It's extremely frustrating to see this come from American oligarchs who bend the knee to a mad king with a sexual penchant for young girls. To satiate their greed people like Sam Altman and Tim Cook align themselves with the worst of American society and unctuously flatter them with gaudy bauble bribes and obsequious speeches. Sure it serves their immediate purposes but what are the long term consequences of this? Do these people realize that every time they sell a piece of their soul to increase their personal wealth it destroys a piece of their society? Do they care? It seems like America is rudderless now, a living ghost shambling into an uncertain but terminal future. Other countries see that now and there's a strong 'if it bleeds we can kill it' vibe after watching America deplete years of missile stocks against Iran only to watch China begin to resupply Iranian stockpiles to provide the Americans with another opportunity to deplete years more. Where does America go from here?
- negura 6mo ago> Do these people realize that every time they sell a piece of their soul to increase their personal wealth it destroys a piece of their society? Do they care? you should look into how wealthy elites live. this is not "their" society, they are completley detached from it. their homes are surrounded by tall walls [0]. they have their own neighbourhoods. they buy themselves islands to party on. they fly there using private jets. they talk with each other in private signal groups or at off-the-record clubs. they build themselves bunkers. they invest in chartered cities. that is the psychology of wealthy people. they are not and do not wish to be a part of society in fact, they don't want society to exist as society at all. because while they unite and collude, they simultaneously discourage everyone else from doing the same. in his davos speech [1], carney himself quoted the phrase "workers of the world unite" in order to discredit it. he gave it as an example of dishonesty, something worthy of scorn. due to its use by communist regimes. historically his point is valid. but the subtext is clear [0] https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/inside-jeff-bezos-273-million-beverly-hills-compound/news-story/683c7fedef0176d1f1de7038e1b00dad https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/inside-jeff-bezo... [1] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-by-mark-carney-prime-minister-of-canada/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-a...
- youngtaff 6mo agoAnd of course it's now flagged…
- OutOfHere 6mo agoIt won't be long now before the US imposes sanctions on Ottawa and funds separatist movements across Canada.
- JohnTHaller 6mo agoIt would be unsurprising if US-based conservative think tanks were already doing this. Worth noting that the ones we'd be unsurprised to see do this are neither conservative nor think tanks.
- morkalork 6mo agoThis MP is best buds with JD Vance: https://provincialtimes.ca/questions-mount-over-jamil-jivanis-nationwide-restore-the-north-tour/ https://provincialtimes.ca/questions-mount-over-jamil-jivani...
- RickJWagner 6mo ago[flagged]
- morkalork 6mo agoDo you just pretend the US's history of undermining states in central and south America doesn't exist?
- RickJWagner 6mo agoNo, I said I have never heard an American say they believed we should bring harm to Canada. The consensus seems to be that they are a good neighbor, but different from the US in some aspects. Some, but not all, envy things like healthcare.
- cherry_tree 6mo agoTrump called the Canadian prime minister a governor while threatening 100% tariffs and threatening to annex Greenland. The US government also did literally reach out to Albertan separatists. The actions of the government you support and the supposed “consensus” you cite are opposed.
- beardyw 6mo agoIt takes much longer to regain trust that it takes to lose it.
- penguin_booze 6mo agoThings you lose only once but never regain: trust, reputation, and virginity.
- xeonmc 6mo agoglass, China, and reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended. -- Benjamin Franklin
- chrisweekly 6mo agoOne of those things is not like the others.
- bryanrasmussen 6mo agoOh, it seems this has been Canadian flagged for some reason. Probably somebody favoring another flag got upset.
- aliasxneo 6mo ago[flagged]
- vjvjvjvjghv 6mo agoYou can only hope that Canada (and Europe) will do more than just being mad at the US. From what I hear from Canadians, Canada is in a very bad spot with high cost of living but salaries that aren't enough to afford that. Complaining about the americans isn't going to solve that. Same for Europe. Stop focusing on Trump and start standing on your own feet.
- frm88 6mo agoStop focusing on Trump and start standing on your own feet. I agree with this, but these are frankly hard things to do when Trumps war is bound to cause a worldwide recession.
- pllbnk 6mo agoIt's naive to think that huge geopolitical shifts could happen in otherwise stable democracies in a couple years, short of some cataclysmic event. So far no such event happened and everybody understands that the USA hasn't fallen, that Trump is a more or less temporary disaster. But thinking in terms of decades makes things much more unpredictable but the general direction rather clear. Before Trump, voters from many European countries, while understanding the shortcomings of EU, were welcoming pro-American policies with open arms. Starting recently (take Hungary for example) and likely for many years in the future any kind of dependency from the USA will be viewed suspiciously. European (and Canadian, though their geography is arguably a little less forgiving) voters also know that looking East is also not an option, neither South, so they will likely keep turning inwards, with the USA having less and less influence.
- senectus1 6mo agothis conversation has to be happening all over the world right now.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- throwpoaster 6mo agoCanada and America are neighbours. It is far cheaper for Canada to ship things south into a giant market than to ship east and west into our own, smaller markets. Trading with anyone else in the world entails much larger shipping expenses. This is structural, and applies to something exceeding 90% of our trade. Carney is wrong, but he's not a fool. I read this as high-level virtue signalling to two audiences: Canadian left-patriots, who love to hate America while (unknowingly) free-riding on the benefits of the relationship. He has a vulnerable majority and is smart enough to plan ahead for the next election. Over half of Boomers support the Liberals, so he is playing to their emotions. He doesn't need to play to their pocket books, because they're mostly as rich as they're going to get, so he can trade economics for votes. Second: he's signalling to China, and other international trade partners, that we are open for business. Carney has been struggling with pro-China (former) members of his caucus also being pro-slave-labour[0]. This is a message that, as he indicated in his Davos speech[1], he is willing to be flexible on Human Rights if the price is right. America hasn't changed. When Trump is gone the American export market will remain. Carney is wrong, but he's not a fool. He's amoral. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHgR4vAurg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFHgR4vAurg [1]: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-by-mark-carney-prime-minister-of-canada/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-a...
- maxglute 6mo ago>far cheaper CAN rail to port to transPac/Asia is cheaper than rail/truck to US post tariff (most commodities now). Also it's ~75% of CAN exports goes to US, and it was only structurally cheaper under pre-Trump trade arrangements, now it's structurally more expensive. Carney's just pointing out the obvious, structurally building economy around US integration/dependency has backfired and will continue to even after Trump for the simple reason VZ oil now challenges WCS, and (preferential/discounted crude to US) basically accounts for all CAN-US surplus. CAN would be in massive goods and services deficit otherwise - like 80B deficit. Canada was always massive real political economy loser in US-CAN trade, would have more favorite trade ledger with 100% domestic goods/service (i.e. 0 goods/service trade with US) and 100% global energy. Reality for CAN is export to US is half commodity, half goods. Of the goods, US has strangled/killed CAN tech, aviation and soon auto and general braindrain. The commodity half, we've send them discount energy because we hedged on integration even though we could have structurally build infra to ship finished products to global markets (at higher margins). Like goods that CAN use to be competitive in, US lobbying / behind scenes shenanigans killed a lot commodity diversification efforts. Meanwhile, again, we have massive non energy goods and service deficit vs US. Goods+Service balance still in CAN favour ONLY because of energy pricing, which again US is getting discount on for CAN being retarded with pipleines not developing refined petro for decades. CAN now getting double fucked for acceding to US gas station arrangement, post VZ, that arrangement is expendable and again, VZ oil not going away after Trump. >he is willing to be flexible on Human Rights if the price is right Or Canada no longer needs toe line with US propaganda on human rights, that was always predicated on happy vassal privileges. Canada was always (A)moral, as in morals was always subject to highest bidder. US no longer wants to pay for LIOtard morals so no choice but look elsewhere and adopt next most profitable morals.
- dreamlayers 6mo agoThe biggest problem is that Canada shares a long land border with the US but is isolated by oceans from other countries. Having alternatives is good, but conflict with the US is dangerous. The US could do a huge amount of damage just by blocking trade with Canada. They're also capable of blocking trade between Canada and other countries, and occupying Canada. It is probably unwise to escalate conflict when the other side can escalate a lot more.
- drunkan 6mo agoso Canada should just succumb to almighty bullies? i think not.
- red-iron-pine 6mo agowithout nukes Canada does not have any real leverage here. they either lean on NATO or Commonwealth allies, or build them internally. there is no other way to resist US military power economically Canada does not have enough good ports and transportation options to get the same volume of good to China or EU as it does into the US.
- conorcleary 6mo agoNuclear weaponry is offensive in nature, and Canada does not need them. The population broadly does not want them. Most people may acknowledge (after slight thought) that if we were to obtain/produce them, certainly other countries won't be happy and if we were to 'use' them, well I'm sure the fallout will end up on our own soil after it's swatted out of the sky. So, let's build AA defence/defense networks of our own, instead.
- nirav72 6mo ago>Nuclear weaponry is offensive in nature It's also a deterrence.
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- matheusmoreira 6mo agoTo be an enemy of America is dangerous. To be an ally, fatal.
- timbit42 6mo ago> "Nixon should be told," Kissinger said, "that it is probably an objective of Clifford to depose Thieu before Nixon is inaugurated. Word should be gotten to Nixon that if Thieu meets the same fate as Diem, the word will go out to the nations of the world that it may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - William F. Buckley Jr. claimed this was said in November of 1968, after Nixon was elected but before he was inaugurated.
- matheusmoreira 6mo agoThe word has already gone out, multiple times over. How many of its allies has America burned since then? The French were ahead of their time.
- incomingpain 6mo agoTrump had 1 term already. Biden did attack Canada multiple times. But we have 200 years of being friends with the USA. They were specific attacks and that doesnt end our relationship. Chretien: “We have no better friend than the United States.” Martin: “Our relationship with the United States is our most important.” Trudeau: “There is no closer friend, partner, and ally than the United States.” The only thing to change was a new Prime Minister. Who has attacked the USA as fascist; a feeling Liberals in Canada very much agree with. He and his wife talk about a new world order. Why is he pushing anti-USA so hard? Biden, republicans and the democrats pulled him in front of congress to answer questions about potential antitrust/collusion he was committing. JPmorgan and BOA pulled out alleging collusion. Vanguard and many others exitted shortly afterwards. This collusion system fell apart. However, when Carney became liberal leader and prime minister. The investigations were paused and Trump endorsed Carney many times. While Carney is also unable to get a deal with the USA. Carney was colluding in the name of climate change, but as PM he has temporarily gotten rid of the carbon tax, and lowered federal excise. Imagine being pro-climate change and also being the guy who is dismantling his own party's efforts. Or wait was it all fraudulent collusion? In reality, Carney ran on the platform of getting a deal with Trump but seems to be intentionally sabotaging this process. Which will cost Canada millions of jobs.