Prime Minister Mark Carney says he told U.S. President Donald Trump he “meant what (he) said” during his speech at the World Economic Forum and it was about responding to a “broader set of issues.”

Carney says he told the president in a call Monday that Canada was the first country to “understand” the change in U.S. trade policy and the country is adjusting to that.

During Carney’s speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week, Carney spoke about the need for middle powers to band together as “great powers” attempt to expand their influence through economic coercion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Monday he was in the room during the call and said Carney was “aggressively walking back” his comments from Davos.

The prime minister told reporters before a cabinet meeting in Ottawa today that he meant what he said in Davos, and that he explained to Trump Canada’s deal with China and the country’s broader strategy to diversify trade globally.

Carney says the call with Trump was also about review process for the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade which is to begin in earnest this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2026.