Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denied claims that he retreated from comments he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos after speaking with US President Donald Trump.
Carney said reports suggesting he walked back his remarks during a call with Trump were incorrect. He said he stood by his Davos speech in full.
Last week, Carney told the Davos forum that the US-led rules-based international order was facing a “rupture”. He urged middle powers to reduce reliance on US economic influence. He also said Washington was using that influence partly as a tool of coercion.
The speech drew global attention and angered Trump. The US president warned Carney to be careful, saying “Canada lives because of the United States”.
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed Carney had softened his stance. Speaking to Fox News, Bessent said Trump told him that Carney had aggressively walked back his Davos remarks during their call.
Carney rejected that account while speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. He said Bessent’s statement was wrong.
“To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” Carney said.
He repeated that Canada had recognised the shift in US trade policy early. He said Ottawa was responding accordingly.
Carney said Trump initiated the phone call on Monday. He said the discussion covered several issues, including Arctic security, Ukraine and Venezuela.
The prime minister did not indicate any change in Canada’s position following the conversation.