‘Nostalgia is Not a Strategy’: Carney Says Canada Will Emerge Stronger From US Trade War

Canada will not build its economic future around a return to the old relationship with Washington. Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered that message to international investors on Tuesday, saying the country intended to emerge from its US trade war “stronger, more resilient, more independent”.

Speaking at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, Carney signalled that Ottawa was prepared to wait for a mutually beneficial agreement while pursuing investment and strengthening ties with other partners.

“We know that nostalgia is not a strategy,” he said.

Carney Says US Partnership Must Rest on Respect

Canada and the United States would always be neighbours, Carney said, but their relationship worked only when both acted as “true partners that respect each other’s traditions and sovereignty”.

“When those opportunities return, Canada will be an even better partner — stronger, more resilient, more independent,” he said.

The remarks came amid strained relations over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and repeated suggestions that Canada should become the 51st US state. Trump has used trade levies to push manufacturers to move production and investment to the United States.

Carney nevertheless kept the door open to an agreement, noting that roughly 80 per cent of cross-border trade remained tariff-free.

“There is a mutually beneficial arrangement that can be had. When it is the right time to strike that deal, we’ll be ready to do that,” he said during a fireside chat after his address.

Bilateral negotiations broke down last month before Washington imposed 50 per cent tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. Ottawa retaliated, and the US subsequently introduced further restrictions on Canadian merchandise.

Canada Pitches Stability as an Investment Advantage

Without naming Trump directly, Carney criticised an international economic climate increasingly shaped by short-term transactions and competition in which one country’s gain is treated as another’s loss.

“Our reputation — as a reliable, predictable partner — has rarely been more valuable in a world where transactions are replacing relationships, and zero-sum is favoured over win-win,” he said.

Carney argued that growing friction between economic integration and national sovereignty made cooperation with like-minded allies more important for countries seeking to protect their independence.

He was scheduled to leave for Europe later on Tuesday, with an address to the European Parliament on his itinerary.

Airport Plan Seeks Tens of Billions for Infrastructure

Carney also outlined plans to attract private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada’s four major airports.

The underlying land and assets would remain publicly owned. According to Carney, the arrangement could generate tens of billions of dollars for reinvestment in transport and wider infrastructure.

The proposal formed part of his pitch for Canada to draw fresh capital as it navigates uncertainty in its largest trading relationship.

A White House Key—and a Pointed Punchline

Carney ended on a lighter, if pointed, account of relations with Trump.

He contrasted a ceremonial key from his hometown of Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories with a box of gold White House keys the US president had given him.

According to Carney, Trump said that if he brought the key, “They’ll let you in,” before adding: “Maybe they’ll shoot you.”

“And that sort of sums up the relationship,” Carney joked. “In Canada, you get the key. In the US, they might shoot you.”

With inputs from ANI