Now that he has a majority, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is turning to the review of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is only months away.
He is also making more moves to diversity the country’s markets and trade partners, as well as attracting investment to Canada.
United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick recently derided Canada’s trade strategy, adding that Carney has a problem with the U.S.
But in a pre-recorded address released Sunday morning, Carney stuck by his policy that Canada must re-evaluate it’s key international relationships and shift its national strategy.
"The world, as I said earlier, is more dangerous and divided," Carney said. "The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression. Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses — weaknesses that we must correct."
In addition, Carney said businesses are holding back investments because of the uncertainty. The U.S. has changed, he said, and Canada must respond. Carney said his government will attract new investments, striking new partnerships abroad to open up new markets.
"It’s about taking back control of our security, our borders and our future," Carney said. "There are some who say there is no need for a comprehensive plan. They believe we should wait it out in the hope that the United States will return to normal — that the good old days will come back — but hope isn’t a plan and nostalgia is not a strategy."
The pre-recorded message was released to the media just days after Lutnick criticized some of the very strategy Carney has adopted. During talks with Semafor World Economy in Washington, D.C., Lutnick said Canada has the worst strategy when it comes to trade.
"That is like the worst strategy I ever heard," he said. "They suck. Look, we are a $30 trillion economy, right? We are the consumer of the world. Carney has a problem with us. He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think China, the Chinese economy is gonna buy his stuff?
"So what did he do? He came back and said, 'Oh we’ll take their electric cars.'"
But Carney now has a majority government, and he has premiers like Ontario’s Doug Ford, behind him.
"I think anyone that has a majority government has a stronger hand to deal with President Trump and the tariffs that we’re facing," Ford said. "But we’re going to stay united as a country and fight against these tariffs and make sure we get a fair deal for Canadians right across the board."
Cristy Clark, a former premier of British Columbia, said you can’t understate the importance of a prime minister who has a majority, as it means three or four years without a national election and it sends a message of confidence to potential investors.
"The Prime Minister is going around the world to try and attract investment in the county," Clark said. "Investors do not want to come and support new LNG plants and new oil refineries and invest in highways and things like that. They don’t want to put the money in the country if they worry that there could be elections any day because the government doesn’t have full control."
And on that issue, Carney announced an "Invest in Canada" summit. Reports indicate he invited 100 of the world’s biggest investors to a summit in Toronto in September. Carney is hoping to convince them to unlock some of the trillions of dollars in investment capital they control and invest it in Canada.
