Carney says 'Canada Strong will help make America great again' in conciliatory New York speech

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney praised the “dynamic” United States and argued that the country’s economic future “should include a new partnership with Canada,” in a conciliatory speech to an American audience.

Carney highlighted the mutual benefits of the cross-border relationship, saying that “Canada Strong will help make America great again,” during a lunchtime speech Thursday at The Economic Club of New York in New York City.

Although some Republicans in D.C. have accused Canada of not being serious about getting a deal done with the U.S., with an upcoming Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review set for July 1, Carney said Canada has made specific proposals to its southern neighbour.

“The examples are legion where we should work together and compete with the world together. To those ends, we have made specific, practical proposals to the U.S. administration,” said Carney.

The prime minister also argued that the Americans would be doing a deal with a “different Canada” than in the past, one that is “applying the lessons from past crises.”

“A partnership with a different Canada, a stronger Canada. A more confident Canada,” he said. “A country that is predictable, reliable and principled in a world that is anything but. I look forward to the conversation.”

Carney may be struggling to get U.S. President Donald Trump to play nice with Canada, but the two men have something in common: They are both trying to attract foreign investment to their countries.

Trump, of course, has used his tariff toolkit to encourage businesses to reshore to America, alongside massive deregulation efforts and tax cuts, but he has yet to see massive industrial moves. Carney, meanwhile, is working to make Canada look safer and faster for foreign capital by setting higher investment targets and making policy changes to speed up project approvals.

The prime minister has set a goal of attracting $1 trillion in investment to Canada over the next five years and plans to hold the first Canada Investment Summit in Toronto this September, where he will appeal to top CEOs, investors and business leaders from around the globe. But Carney isn’t waiting until autumn to make his case to investors in New York.

Carney shared details with the New York audience about Canada’s new economy strategy and the progress his team has made so far. He met with investors, top CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and capital managers, pitching them his stronger, more resilient Canada.

He argued that the world is undergoing a structural break driven by U.S.-led technological advances and Washington changing its commercial relationships — and that the “world is becoming more divided and dangerous.”

Rather than wallowing over past glories or using nostalgia as a strategy, Canada’s response is to take action to become more self-reliant and diversified in terms of trade and defence, he said.

“In a crisis,” Carney said, “fortune always favours the bold.”