TORONTO
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to India this week, pushing to double trade and mend fractured ties, his first stop on an Asia-Pacific tour that also includes Australia and Japan as he seeks to reduce reliance on the United States.
Carney has said that the US-led global order is fading and that Canada should not expect the old system to return once President Donald Trump leaves office.
Hedging against the mercurial resident of the White House, he has sought to rebuild previously testy relations with major Asian economies, last month visiting Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping after years of frozen ties.
Carney will leave on Thursday for India, on a visit that will be closely watched as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi try to repair ties that effectively ruptured in 2024. “In a more uncertain world, Canada is focused on what we can control,” Carney said in a statement announcing the trip.
“We are forging new partnerships abroad to create greater certainty, security and prosperity at home.”
Trump’s tariffs on autos, aluminium, lumber and steel are hurting the Canadian economy.
The impacts of the levies have been muted by the president’s broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement.
Negotiations on revising that deal are set for the start of this year and Trump has repeatedly insisted the United States doesn’t need access to any Canadian products — which would have sweeping consequences for its northern neighbour.
Trump has also repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, and last month posted an image on social media of a map with Canada — as well as Greenland and Venezuela — covered by the American flag.
Carney says that to safeguard Canada’s economic future the country needs to massively expand non-US international trade.
