Mark Carney says he has considered possibility of US military action against Canada
The prime minister described the risk of an action by the country's southern neighbour as remote, but said "it would be irresponsible" not to prepare.
Mark Carney says he has considered the possibility of US military action against Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has thought about the remote chance of US military action against Canada, according to an interview with The New York Times.
Carney told the Times that his government had closely reviewed the "extreme tail risk" scenario in which the US would take military action against his country, and had made preparations accordingly, though he did not give further details.
"I think you have a responsibility in these roles to look at extreme tail risk," Carney told the Times. "That's just risk management. That's not a base case, but it would be irresponsible not to" prepare.
Tensions between the neighbouring countries have risen under US President Donald Trump.
Any conflict would likely be heavily one-sided. The US military has more than 2 million active-duty and reserve troops, while Canada has fewer than 200,000, according to their governments. Likewise, as of 2024, the US had 65 military submarines, compared with Canada's four.
Canada, however, has the world's longest coastline and is near the Arctic, two factors that have led Carney to increase defence spending since taking office.
Meanwhile, Trump has often referred to Canada as the "51st state". He also launched a trade war with it that intensified last month as the two countries began imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on a range of products.
Even since then, Carney told the Times, he speaks with Trump "frequently".
"From my perspective, we have a good relationship in the sense of we can pick up the phone and talk to each other about issues," he told the outlet. "He's direct. I'm direct in terms of where positions are. It's much more efficient that way, and so you know that exists and that will continue to exist."
Carney said he still believes there is a path to restart trade negotiations with the US. He said returning to the friendly, decades-long trade relationship with the US would benefit both countries.