Trump’s rhetoric rallies Canadian support for Prime Minister Mark Carney

By Maria Cheng

OTTAWA, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Renewed verbal attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump are prompting Canadians to rally behind Prime Minister Mark Carney, who earned a rare standing ovation in Davos for openly decrying powerful nations using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage.

In his speech, Carney called on nations to accept that a rules-based global order was over and pointed to Canada as an example of how “middle powers” might act together to avoid being victimized by American hegemony.

“When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself,” he said. “Middle powers must act together because if you are not on the table, you are on the menu.”

In response, Trump retorted that Canada “lives because of the United States,” and told the crowd in Davos that Carney should be grateful for the United States’ previous largesse, addressing the prime minister directly: “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

A day earlier, Trump had posted an AI-generated photo of Canada and Greenland draped in the American flag on Truth Social. 

A well-received Davos speech capped an eventful overseas trip for Carney, who last week struck a trade deal with China and sought new partnerships in the Middle East aimed at reducing his country’s overwhelming economic reliance on the United States. 

“Canadians will feel a sense of pride – and possibly some concern – because our prime minister has been so blunt,” said Laura Stephenson, a political science professor at the University of Western Ontario. “Carney is displaying courage by saying these things so publicly and there will be pride that the global reception to his speech has been largely positive.”    

ARTICULATING A DIFFERENT WORLD VIEW

Stephenson said Carney’s speech – written by the prime minister himself, according to his office – will resonate with Canadians, though their response may vary depending on whether or not their jobs are tied to U.S. trade.

“If you’re going to be personally impacted by CUSMA, you might be very upset and fearful about what might happen next,” she said, referring to the trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico that is up for review this year.

Despite the tough rhetoric, Carney has yet to broker a trade deal with the U.S. and his “elbows up” approach to the U.S. has somewhat faded – he dropped a digital services tax to restart trade negotiations with the U.S. and apologized for a Canadian advertisement that angered Trump, for example.

On the snowy streets of Toronto, retired race walker Ann Peel said Trump’s escalating rhetoric about annexing Canada left her “deeply concerned” about the possibility of U.S. aggression. She called Trump “a big bully” and said Carney’s speech was powerful because it articulated a fundamentally different world view than that of the U.S.

“We’re very values-based,” she said. “Canadians, as a people, stand proud,” Peel said. “We’re not just going to roll over because the United States wants us to.”

Since Trump first started threatening to make Canada the 51st state of the U.S. shortly after winning the 2024 election, Canadians have dramatically cut travel to the United States, boycotted American booze and prioritized buying Canadian goods.

CARNEY ENJOYS STRONG SUPPORT AT HOME

Jonathan Kalles, a former senior adviser to ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he was struck by the support for Carney’s speech from across the political spectrum, including some Conservatives. 

Most polls show Carney’s approval rating holding above 50% since he came to power in April last year and recent data from Nanos Research shows Carney with a 22-point lead over Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Carney’s Liberal party reversed a nearly 30-point lead held by the Conservatives to win last year’s federal election after Trump started threatening Canada’s sovereignty.   

James Moore, a former minister of industry under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted a clip of Carney’s speech while calling for people to “put down your partisan swords today and take a moment and listen to this speech.” 

Michelle Rempel Garner, a Conservative member of parliament from Alberta, wrote in the National Post newspaper that Carney’s speech “rightly named the hard realities of a fractured geopolitical system and the urgent need for middle powers like Canada to step up with resolve and realism” and called on him to follow through with action. 

Jack Cunningham, a professor of international relations at the University of Toronto, said Canadians responded overwhelmingly to Carney’s speech in part because the prime minister dared to press back against Trump and appears to still command the president’s respect. 

 “For a long time, every other leader has tried to treat Trump as if he were a difficult grandfather you had to manage,” Cunningham said. “There’s a sense of pride among Canadians that Carney is the leader that has been able to confront Trump … We just hope now that we’re no longer alone.”

(Reporting by Maria Cheng; Additional reporting by Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone in Toronto; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Deepa Babington)