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“This is not a transition. This is a rupture,” he said. “This is a sharp change in a short period of time, driven by a variety of factors. We have a determination to rise up and meet this.”

Carney said Canada’s response is to “build strength at home,” diversify abroad and pursue “a variable geography to defend our values and pursue our interests.” The prime minister cited his government’s work in promoting interprovincial trade, boosting defence spending and diversifying its trading and security partnerships, including with the European Union.

Carney also said Canada is a trustworthy trading partner with connections to every major market.

After marking his remarks, Carney spoke one-on-one with Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The wide-ranging conservation — which began with a joke from Froman about whether Carney was able to get into the U.S. with a Canadian passport — covered several topics. They included trade, Canada’s support for Ukraine and the government’s recent move to recognize Palestinian statehood.

On Sunday, the United Kingdom, Australia and Portugal joined Canada in recognizing an independent Palestinian state before world leaders arrived in New York City for this week’s 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Carney said Monday the move to recognize Palestinian statehood is consistent with Canada’s longtime policy of supporting a two-state solution. He said Canada and other countries are actively trying to create conditions for a ceasefire and a peace process.

“It’s necessary in our judgment, and the judgment of most other countries in the world, that we have to push on this now,” he said.

“The possibility, in absolute violation of the UN Charter and in absolute violation of international law, of self-determination for the Palestinian peoples is being erased. So we’re doing what we can but recognizing the limitations.”

Discussing the pressures on Canada’s economy stemming from policy decisions made in Washington, Carney said Canadians understand the need to be “masters in our own house.”

“The country does not want to wake up and look on, with all due respect, on Truth Social or X to see what the latest change is in U.S. policy, but wants to get on with what we can control,” he said. “And that’s a big part of the government’s strategy.”

Carney suggested that the trade tensions with the United States have created a “strong consensus” in Canada on the need to develop new trading arrangements and boost defence spending.

“We needed the rupture, we needed the shock, it seems,” he said.

“Candidly, we’ve been done a favour because all of these things we could have done before ourselves. There is a very strong consensus in the country to do that.”

Carney said Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are in the early stages of developing a “very attractive” version of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade.

Carney was set to meet with world leaders at the United Nations later Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2025.

— With files from Catherine Morrison