'The old relationship we had with the United States is over'
Can trade wars produce a 'We shall fight them on the beaches'? Probably not, but this might still be the speech of the year.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney doesn’t give off Churchillian vibes. There are moments in this incredible speech where his inflection seems slightly off, and his hair and suit and demeanour have banker energy, and I don’t intend that as rhyming slang.
He went to Harvard. He was an outstanding hockey goalie. He made a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. He was governor of the central bank during the GFC. He won a leadership ballot after the Liberal Party tanked in the polls under Justin Trudeau, Carney benefitting from his outsider status and his willingness to stand up to Trump’s boorish rhetoric. Is it just rhetoric though? Maybe Trump means it when he talks about annexing Canada? The strength of Carney’s response is that he sounds like he suspects the worst and this reads like a wartime leader’s speech.
He’s now odds on to win the election set for 28th April.
Carney said in February:
President Trump probably thinks Canada will cave in. But we are going to stand up to a bully, we’re not going to back down. We’re united and we will retaliate.
But the speech that lit up the internet last week was the transcribed below, a response to Trump’s announcement about tariffs on Canadian motor parts and vehicles. It led off
’s excellent essay ‘The American Age is Over’:Fittingly, it was the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who declared the official time of death.
‘The global economy is fundamentally different today than it was yesterday. The system of global trade anchored on the United States, that Canada has relied on since the end of the Second World War—a system that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for our country for decades—is over.’
And just like that, the age of American empire, the great Pax Americana, ended.
From a speech writing perspective, here are a few of the things that really work in the speech:
The simplicity of language. There is no jargon or double speak. The speech could be understood by a five year old, and given we’re talking about Trump here …
He establishes Trump as the aggressor, and Canadian auto workers as the victims:
Yesterday, in the latest salvo in his trade war, President Trump again imposed unjustified tariffs on our nation in violation of our existing trade agreements.
This time he targeted the auto industry and the more than 500,000 hardworking, dedicated Canadians that that industry supports across our country.
He walks back temptations to insult the Trump personally or impugn his motives, (you can see I lack this discipline 😀) saying he ‘understands and respects his goal to support American workers’ but disagrees ‘this is how to help them’.
He uses active language and repeated phrases to begin sentences 'We will … we will …. we will’. This actually is directly reminiscent of ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’.
He does what he said he was going to do. He stands up to a bully. And he uses words like ‘sovereignty’, ‘security’ and military’ which is playing as much into Trumps egregious 51st state stuff, as it is the general issue of auto tariffs. It ends up not being just a trade speech. It’s a trumpet call to Canadians, a warning that the world order has changed, a summons to the economic barricades, what
calls ‘A line in the snow’.
I’ve looked online and the transcript wasn’t obviously available, so I ordered one through Rev, published below. It’s also up on Speakola at the speech bank.
I have rebooted the podcast for 2025. The first ep for the year is Sammy J talking comedy debates. The one I will release shortly is with Dana Rubin from Speaking While Female speech bank.
Mark Carney: 'The old relationship we had with the United States is over', Response to Trump trade tariffs - 2025
28 March 2025, Ottawa, Canada
Today my cabinet colleagues and I met to discuss Canada's response to the latest developments in the trade crisis. Yesterday, in the latest salvo in his trade war, President Trump again imposed unjustified tariffs on our nation in violation of our existing trade agreements.
This time he targeted the auto industry and the more than 500,000 hardworking, dedicated Canadians that that industry supports across our country.
Now, the president of the United States is trying to fundamentally restructure his economy, it means our economy, and it means the global economy as well. And I understand and respect his goal to support American workers, but I disagree with him that this is how to help them. With time, it will become apparent that these actions will end up hurting American workers and American consumers.
I reject any attempts to weaken Canada, to wear us down, to break us so that America can own us. That will never happen. And our response to these latest tariffs is to fight, is to protect and to build. We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada. We will protect our workers and our industries during this difficult period,. But above all, we will build a new Canadian economy. We will build Canada strong.
Coming to terms with this sobering reality is the first step to taking necessary actions to defend our nation. But it's only the first step.
Last night the president of the United States reached out to schedule a call. I appreciate this opportunity to discuss how we can protect our workers and build our economies. I will make clear to the President that those interests are best served by cooperation and mutual respect, including of our sovereignty.
Let's be clear, we're all on the same page. We won't back down. We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country.
Now, to my fellow Canadians, I don't want to set unreasonable expectations. The road ahead will be long. There is no silver bullet. There is no quick fix. And I know and I understand that many are feeling anxious and worried about the future. Fundamental change is always unsettling. But I have every confidence in our country because I understand what President Trump does not. That we love Canada with every fibre of our being because we are stronger when we are together and Canadians are uniting as never before.
Now, we are going to have to live the lessons of recent months. First, that we have to look out for ourselves. And second, that we have to look out for each other. The federal government will do everything in its power to protect Canadian workers and businesses. We will be here for you every step of the way. In the past week, my government committed to use every dollar collected from our retaliatory tariffs to protect our workers. Our biggest challenge as a country is becoming the most urgent. Over the coming weeks, months and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy.
We will need to ensure that Canada can succeed in a drastically different world. The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations is over. What exactly the United States does next is unclear. But what is clear is that we as Canadians have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home nous ? chez nous.
We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home. It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labour, from Canadians. We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations.
But we can make ourselves more productive and therefore more competitive. We can break down internal trade barriers. We can build a stronger and more resilient economy, and that's what I'm squarely focused on as your prime Minister.
Our film ‘Ange & The Boss’ continues to enjoy its successful cinema season in Australia. In a fortnight we head to Hungary with our doco about perhaps the most famous Hungarian, Ferenc Puskas and his time living and coaching here. (Sessions on 26th, 27th and 28th of April)
The final Q&A of this Australian run (I think) will be at Cinema Nova in Melbourne on Wednesday 9th at 6.45pm. (Tickets) Guests are Paul Trimboli, Miki Petersen and Kon Karapanagiotidis from the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre. There are daily sessions at the Nova, and also sessions at The Picadilly in Adelaide and Five Star New Farm in Brisbane. (All tickets and sessions)
