OTTAWA \u2014 Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected U.S. claims that he softened his message from a high-profile Davos speech during a subsequent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he stood by his remarks and framed them as a response to shifting U.S. trade policy. According to Reuters, the dispute erupted after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that Carney had \u201caggressively\u201d walked back \u201cunfortunate remarks\u201d made at the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carney told reporters in Ottawa on January 27 that he did not retract his Davos comments in the call with Trump, saying he reiterated that he \u201cmeant what\u201d he said and argued Canada is adjusting to U.S. tariffs and economic pressure by broadening its trade relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. side has not released a detailed account of the conversation, leaving Canadians weighing competing public descriptions of what was discussed and how firmly Carney defended his Davos message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carney delivered his Davos address on January 20, warning of what he described as a \u201crupture\u201d in the international order and urging \u201cmiddle powers\u201d to coordinate so they are not squeezed by larger states using economic integration and tariffs as leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The speech landed amid heightened Canada\u2013U.S. trade tensions and followed Carney\u2019s push to diversify exports and attract investment as Ottawa works to reduce reliance on a single market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Ottawa, opposition Conservatives seized on the conflicting accounts and pressed the Prime Minister\u2019s Office to provide a formal readout of the call, arguing Canadians should know whether any position was revised under U.S. pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carney, for his part, has said Canada remains open to strengthening economic ties with the United States, while preparing for an upcoming review of the Canada\u2013U.S.\u2013Mexico trade pact and pursuing expanded trade links elsewhere.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OTTAWA \u2014 Prime Minister Mark Carney has rejected U.S. claims that he softened his message from a high-profile Davos speech during a subsequent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he stood by his remarks and framed them as a response to shifting U.S. trade policy. According to Reuters, the dispute erupted after U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n