Canadian PM Mark Carney takes veiled swipe at Trump, urges closer Australia ties

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took a veiled swipe at Donald Trump, telling an Australian audience that the GDP of the two countries and their partners is larger than that of the US and that they own most of the world’s critical minerals.

Mr. Carney arrived in Sydney on Tuesday for a multi-day visit to Australia that is expected to cover everything from defense cooperation and critical minerals to strengthening institutions.

Speaking at the Lowy Institute on Wednesday evening, Mr. Carney said AM Canada was pursuing a “no regrets strategy” and trying to strengthen its relationship with Australia, managing director Michael Fullilove said.

“I don’t want to get completely into it and we still need to meet with cabinet and finalize things, but I think what you’ll see in the next 24 hours… I expect we’ll see a number of agreements that point in the direction of what we collectively see as the priorities for building this partnership,” Mr. Carney said.

In recent months the Liberal Prime Minister has been at the forefront of pressure for “middle powers” ​​to assert themselves amid a “rupture” in which “the old norms of the rules-based order are being erased”.

“Middle powers like Canada (and I would suggest Australia) must recognize that the rupture in the international system represents just that, what that word means, a clear break with the past, and act decisively to secure our common future,” he said.

In one of his many veiled references to the United States, Mr. Carney said his imperative was “to ensure that integration never again becomes the source of subordination.”

“This cannot be achieved alone. It requires diversification and partnership,” he said.

“When we negotiate with the hegemon only bilaterally, we negotiate from weakness.

“We are competing with each other to be the most conciliatory, and that is not sovereignty, it is the exercise of sovereignty.”

Mr Carney said one reason for the visit was to establish the critical mineral reserve.

He said Canada and Australia together have a “$25 billion war chest” to accelerate projects, as well as a third of the world’s lithium and uranium and 40 percent of its iron ore.

Defense was next, and going “off script,” Mr. Carney declared that 70 cents of every dollar spent on defense capital “goes to the United States.”

He noted Australia and Canada’s commitment to the Coalition of Volunteers, which aims to provide aid and a military “backstop” in the event of a peace deal in Ukraine.

“That’s pretty powerful,” he said.

“This is a grouping that has formed tentatively, and this grouping has revealed a preference for Europeans in part because of geography, but it has also fundamentally revealed a preference for countries that most value sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy.”

His speech also spread to Australia’s closest neighbours.

“The middle powers have more power than most people think,” he said.

“This coalition of Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea has a GDP larger than the United States, three times the trade flows of China, the largest research and development expenditure in the world, 62 of the world’s top 100 universities, and the largest source of cultural exports globally.

“If we work in a variable geometry, that is, in different coalitions on different issues, we can do more than protect our sovereignty.

“We can build something better, more prosperous, more just.”

PM cannot answer the question

But when pressed on whether Donald Trump’s increasingly militaristic and unilateral action would lead to the US being “feared, but not trusted or loved”, Mr Carney refused to answer.

“Do you want me to answer?” He laughed.

“I don’t see much upside in answering that question.”

Instead, Mr. Carney criticized the use of tariffs, or “monetization hegemony.”

“Because the response — and we’re seeing this starting to happen — is that we need to diversify and also avoid becoming more tied to a country that will potentially use this against you in some cases, whether it’s China, Europe or the United States,” he said.

Asked what his “game plan” was for managing Mr. Trump, Mr. Carney said: “Respect, but not disobedience.”

“He appreciates being direct, discussing issues and making it clear where his position is, especially in private conversations,” he continued.

“You don’t want to say anything publicly that you can’t support.

“In private, he’s more interested in your perspective on various things, and that creates the ability to work through things.”

Mr. Carney reiterated that his country took its stance on Iran “with some regret” following the attack by the United States and Israel, backtracking somewhat on previous statements he had described as merely “regret”.

“Because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order,” he said.

“Despite decades of UN Security Council resolutions, the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a range of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, Iran’s nuclear threats persist, and the US and Israel now act without engaging with the UN or consulting their allies, including Canada.”

He later said Canada would “always welcome” regime change in Iran.