By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said he stood firmly by his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, rejecting claims that he walked back remarks during a call with US President Donald Trump.
"But to be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos. It was clear," Carney told reporters in Ottawa before the federal Cabinet's weekly meeting, adding that the speech was "a broader set of issues that Canada was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that he had initiated."
His comments came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed Carney had "aggressively" taken back parts of his Davos speech in his conversation with Trump.
Carney said Trump initiated the call and they discussed a wide range of international and bilateral issues.
"First off, the President (Trump) called me yesterday. We had a very good conversation on a wide range of subjects, ranging from the situation in Ukraine, Venezuela, and Arctic security," he said.
Noting that he outlined Canada's evolving trade strategy, Carney said he and Trump "discussed as well what Canada is doing positively, and this is the context of our discussion: what Canada is doing positively to build new partnerships around the world."
"I explained to him our arrangement with China. I explained to him what we're doing: 12 new deals on four continents in six months. He was impressed, and what we intend to do going forward, as well as the opportunity to, of course, move forward on CUSMA," he added.
CUSMA refers to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, the " largest free trade" deal governing economic relations between the three countries.
Carney, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, warned of the erosion of the rules-based international order traditionally associated with US leadership and urged middle powers to diversify trade and strengthen their resilience.
Following Carney's speech, Trump took a swipe at the Canadian prime minister last week when he said Canada should be "grateful" to the US.
Relations between Canada and the US have been strained since Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and later halted trade talks because of an anti-tariff advertisement aired in the US.