TORONTO, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has reaffirmed that Canada will remain a crucial partner of the United States in several key areas, despite renewed trade tensions between the two North American neighbors.
Carney made the declaration on Tuesday while addressing some of the world’s leading investors at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, just hours after US President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods.
Speaking to the gathering of financial leaders and global investors, Carney acknowledged the long-standing relationship between Canada and the United States, saying the two countries had maintained close ties even during periods of disagreement.
“These arrangements work when we engage as true partners that respect each other’s traditions and sovereignty,” Carney said.
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He stressed that Canada’s relationship with the United States would continue despite the current tensions, while signaling that Ottawa was determined to strengthen its economic independence.
“When those opportunities return, Canada will be an even better partner, stronger, more resilient, more independent,” the prime minister said.
Addressing Americans directly, Carney added: “We will always be neighbors, and Canada will continue to be the US’s most important partner in many key areas.”
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Canada Seeks to Reduce U.S. Dependence
Carney organized the Toronto investment summit as part of a broader strategy to reduce Canada’s heavy dependence on the American economy and attract more investment from other parts of the world.
The Canadian prime minister has repeatedly warned that US trade hostility should be treated as a potential long-term reality, arguing that Canada must diversify its export markets and strengthen domestic industries.
In his opening remarks at the summit, Carney repeated concerns he had previously raised at the World Economic Forum in January, where he argued that Trump’s approach to international trade had contributed to a major disruption in the global economic order.
“Sovereignty and openness are now in tension. Economic integration is being weaponized. Tariffs are used as leverage,” Carney said.
He further warned that global supply chains were increasingly being treated as strategic vulnerabilities that could be exploited for political and economic advantage.
US Remains Canada’s Biggest Market
Despite his push for diversification, Carney acknowledged that the United States remains critically important to Canada’s economy.
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Approximately two-thirds of Canadian exports are destined for the US market, making it extremely difficult for Canada to quickly replace American demand with alternative markets.
The economic relationship between the two countries is therefore expected to remain significant even as Ottawa seeks to establish stronger commercial relationships with Europe, Asia and other global markets.
Canada Targets More Than $1 Trillion in Investment
Carney said the investment summit was designed to help Canada attract more than Can$1 trillion (US$720 billion) in investment over the next five years.
The prime minister highlighted several sectors that Ottawa believes could attract substantial international capital, particularly critical minerals and energy.
Among the most ambitious plans is the proposed construction of a new pipeline connecting Alberta’s energy resources to Canada’s Pacific coast.
According to Carney, the proposed pipeline would transport at least one million barrels of low-emission Alberta oil per day to Asian markets, creating an alternative export route and reducing Canada’s reliance on the United States.
“We are unleashing our full potential as an energy superpower,” Carney declared.
The remarks come at a delicate moment in Canada-US relations, with Ottawa attempting to balance its historically close economic relationship with Washington against growing pressure to diversify its economy and strengthen its sovereignty.
For Canada, the challenge will be finding new international markets and investment partners without disrupting the deeply integrated trade relationship that has existed between the two North American neighbors for decades.
