Montreal (Canada) (AFP) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is more seasoned as a banker than a politician but has shown a confident touch in standing up to US President Donald Trump and navigating a trade war that threatens his nation's economy.
Issued on: 26/08/2026 - 00:14
3 min Reading time
"We are masters in our own house," the prime minister said on Saturday, just hours after breaking off trade talks with the United States and ordering his negotiators back to Ottawa.Despite the risks this decision poses to Canada, which is heavily dependent on exports to the US, Carney can boast of broad support, with 76 percent of the public praising his stance toward Washington, according to a weekend poll."Mark Carney has the means to achieve his ambitions because the country is behind him," says Genevieve Tellier, a professor of political science at the University of Ottawa.After Washington slapped Canada with 50-percent duties, Canada on Tuesday announced counter-tariffs of its own.Former head of Canada's central bank, Carney, 61, was not known for his charisma -- unlike his flamboyant predecessor Justin Trudeau, from the same Liberal Party -- but has nevertheless managed to kindle a patriotic flame among Canadians weary of American attacks.It was trade tension with the United States that propelled him to power -- two months after Trump began his second term -- as Canadians saw him as a protector of their economy.Replacing Trudeau as leader of his party and the government in March 2025, he won a general election a month later, to everyone's surprise."He transformed into a politician quite quickly; it was a surprise," said Tellier.- The Davos Turning Point - A blunt speech Carney gave at January's World Economic Forum marked a turning point for him on the international stage.Declaring that the world was in the midst of a "rupture in the world order," he called on middle powers like Canada to unite."If we're not at the table, we're on the menu," he said.
