Did he really bend the knee? That’s the question on every political observer’s lips this morning. Last Monday, a phone call took place between US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. But what did they really say to each other? The versions differ so much that it feels like we’re listening to two different conversations.
On the one hand, we have Scott Bessent’s frontal attack. The US Treasury Secretary claims to have witnessed the scene directly from the Oval Office. His version, delivered to Fox News, is scathing for the Canadian leader: according to him, Carney « backtracked very aggressively » on certain remarks made last week. Bessent even refers to « unfortunate remarks » that the Prime Minister has since retracted. Basically, from Washington’s perspective, Canada has completely backtracked.
Clarification on China, no apologies
But wait, because in Ottawa, the story is radically different. While the Prime Minister’s Office is playing it safe by refusing to officially confirm the call, a well-informed source spilled the beans to Radio-Canada: yes, they did talk. But no, Mark Carney did not « back down. »
The purpose of the call? To clear up a huge misunderstanding about China. The Americans had gotten it into their heads that Canada had just signed a free trade agreement with Beijing during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to China. However, according to this Canadian source, the call was simply to clarify the actual content of the agreement, which is not a free trade treaty. This was all the more urgent given that Donald Trump is not joking about this: he threatened to impose new 100% tariffs on Canadian products if this trade agreement were to be formalized. This was a potential economic disaster that absolutely had to be defused.
The bone of contention: the Davos speech
This speech, which was met with ovations at the forum, did not go down well with Donald Trump. The US president took it personally, launching a scathing retort: « Canada lives off the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make statements. » » The diplomatic sanction was swift: Trump withdrew the invitation he had sent to Mr. Carney to join his « Peace Council. » For Scott Bessent, the equation is simple: Canada depends on its neighbor, and if Trump carries out his threat of tariffs, it would be, in his words, « a disaster for Canada. »
According to the source: ici.radio-canada.ca Created by humans, assisted by AI.