Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference before a cabinet planning forum at The Citadelle in Quebec City on Thursday.Mathieu Belanger/Reuters
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a state of the nation speech ahead of a meeting of his cabinet Thursday, urging Canadians to pull together to confront the economic challenges ahead while lauding the country as a beacon to a world increasingly tilted toward authoritarianism.
The public remarks were Mr. Carney’s first since returning from a multileg international trip aimed in part at building relationships with trading partners beyond the United States, most notably China.
During a stop in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum earlier in the week, he was widely praised for an address in which he spoke of a rupture in the rules-based international order and the need for middle powers to band together.
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Canadians must do so too, Mr. Carney said during his speech in Quebec City, where he and his cabinet are planning for the return of Parliament on Monday.
“When we are united, unity grows. When we are Canadian – inclusive, fair, ambitious – Canada grows,” he said.
Mr. Carney used his speech to provide an overview of Canada’s progress and the choices that he said have served the country well over time.
Those include Quebec twice choosing to remain part of Canada, he noted, though he made no mention of the potential for another sovereignty referendum in the province, nor one that may come in Alberta.
“Our values must be fought for. That’s what we’re doing, and Canadians are up for it,” he said.
Near the end of his speech, Mr. Carney jabbed back at U.S. President Donald Trump, who told an audience in Davos on Wednesday that Canada wouldn’t exist without the United States.
“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security and in rich cultural exchanges,” Mr. Carney said. But he also added: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Mr. Carney delivered his remarks to journalists gathered at La Citadelle, a military fortress built in the 19th century to secure Quebec City against a potential invasion.
He took no questions from reporters.
In his speech, the Prime Minister also acknowledged that the Liberal government must act quickly to solve the pressing economic and cost-of-living problems facing the country as a result of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.
“Now we need to execute. Fairly and fast,” Mr. Carney said. “We are building one Canadian economy and launching nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.”
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The legislation that provided for a fast-tracking of those projects is one of the few bills Mr. Carney has been able to get through Parliament so far.
The Liberals won a minority government in last year’s election.
Though their ranks have grown, with the addition of two Conservatives who crossed the floor last year, they still require votes from opposition MPs to advance their agenda in the Commons.
Mr. Carney’s speech is unlikely to capture the same global attention as the one he delivered in Davos. He received plaudits for telling the gathering of leaders from government, business and academia that the rules-based world order had fractured as a result of major powers using economic integration and tariffs as leverage.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a lengthy response late Thursday to Mr. Carney’s remarks in Davos, calling the speech well-crafted and eloquently delivered.
He also said Conservatives are willing to work with Mr. Carney to turn his ideas into action.
But, Mr. Poilievre said, Mr. Carney’s record so far is disappointing. The Conservative Leader criticized him for numerous things, including that free trade between provinces has yet to materialize, no new natural resources projects are under way, housing costs have not improved and the military remains underequipped.
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“These unkept promises – which all followed grand speeches and announcements – make us especially vulnerable to the world’s dangers,” Mr. Poilievre said.
Mr. Carney’s remarks on Thursday offered few hints of concrete measures the government intends to move forward with in the next parliamentary sitting.
But Finance Minister François-Phillippe Champagne said the overarching themes of the two-day cabinet meeting are economic resilience, job creation and affordability.
“That’s top of mind for Canadians. How can we make their lives more affordable,” he told reporters on his way into the discussions.
The Prime Minister’s Office said outside experts will be briefing cabinet ministers during the talks. On Thursday, guests included Royal Bank’s chief economist Frances Donald; Jean Boivin, head of BlackRock Investment Institute; and Rebekah Young, head of resilience economics at Bank of Nova Scotia.
Carney gave a speech at the World Economic Forum that blamed U.S. President Donald Trump, without naming him, for what Carney described as a rupture in global relations.