U.S. President Donald Trump is calling out Prime Minister Mark Carney for a speech he made at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
In a more-than-an-hour-long address in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Trump pointed to Canada, saying his proposed “Golden Dome” defence system is “by its very nature, going to be defending Canada.”
“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way, they should be grateful also, but they’re not,” he said. “I watched your (prime) minister yesterday, he wasn’t so grateful.”
“They should be grateful to us, Canada,” he added. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
The president’s comments come the day after a speech by Carney at the same forum, which brings together politicians, media and business leaders from around the world.
Carney’s 17-minute keynote address charted a new path forward for Canada and like-minded so-called middle powers, with the prime minister stating the old world order — the rules-based international order — is not coming back.
“More recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons,” Carney said. “Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”
While Carney sent a clear message in making reference to economic coercion and tariffs being used as leverage throughout his speech, he did not call out the United States or the American president by name.
Carney in his speech also asserted that Canada “stands firmly” with Greenland, and that Canada “strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland.”
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted that the United States “needs” Greenland — a Danish autonomous territory — for national security purposes.
The issue, for which the president has drawn significant international criticism, was also a primary focus of Trump’s speech to Davos.
Though, he said Wednesday he will not take the territory by force.
“We never ask for anything, we never got anything,” Trump said. “We probably won’t get anything, unless I decide to use excessive strength and force.”
“We would be, frankly, unstoppable,” he added. “But, won’t do that. Now, everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, good.’ It’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force.”
“I don’t have to use force,” he continued. “I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland.”
The speech was Carney’s first at the World Economic Forum since becoming prime minister, and has been widely praised.
In a statement to CTV News, the Prime Minister’s Office said it has no plans to comment on the president’s speech.
Asked by reporters in Davos to comment on Wednesday, Carney also did not respond to Trump’s speech.
With files from CTV News’ Annie Bergeron-Oliver and Mike Le Couteur
