Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during question period at Parliament House in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on January 27, 2026.
Patrick Doyle | Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denied Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claims that he retracted parts of a much-talked-about speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week in a private phone call with President Donald Trump.
“Let me be clear: When I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” Mr. Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday morning, denying Mr. Bessent’s remarks the night before.
Mr. Bessent said in a Fox News interview Monday night that Mr. Carney had been “very aggressive in retracting some of the regrettable statements he had made in Davos” during a call with Mr. Trump earlier in the day.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Carney declared that the established world order, led by the United States, was “on the brink of collapse.” He sternly warned that the “bargain” of U.S. hegemony “doesn’t work anymore,” adding that “great powers” are abusing and weaponizing economic tools such as tariffs.
The speech, which came as President Trump is actively pressuring Europe to sell Danish-owned Greenland to the United States, received an unusual standing ovation at Davos.
Carney said his speech reflected that “Canada was the first country to understand the changes in U.S. trade policy that he initiated, and we are responding to them,” according to a video of his remarks.
He acknowledged that Trump called him and said the two leaders discussed a wide range of topics, from the Ukraine war to “Arctic security” (an abbreviation for the Greenland dispute).
Carney said the call was about “Canada’s active efforts to build new partnerships around the world,” including “our deal with China.”
Canada is one of several U.S. trading partners that has countered the Trump administration’s aggressive and unpredictable tariffs as it seeks to strengthen ties with other major economies such as China and India.
Mr. Carney told Mr. Trump of Canada that “Mr. Trump was impressed when he bragged about having concluded 12 new agreements on four continents in six months.”
Asked to clarify that he had not retracted his remarks in the speech during his phone call with President Trump, Carney responded, “No.”
President Trump criticized Carney at Davos, accusing him and his country of being ungrateful to the United States.
On Friday, President Trump rescinded Canada’s invitation to the Peace Commission. And over the weekend, President Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian imports if Ottawa signs a trade deal with China.
Carney said Sunday that Canada does not intend to pursue a free trade agreement with China.
The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Carney’s remarks.
