NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for a "new partnership" with the United States to "help make America great again," in a speech delivered in New York on Thursday.
Carney said that while the world is undergoing a "rupture" as the U.S. transforms its commercial relationships, working closely with Canada in specific sectors, including aluminum, automobiles and critical minerals, will strengthen both countries.
Amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S., Carney has vowed
to double Canadian exports to other markets in the next decade and signed more than 20 economic and security deals in the last year.
After President Donald Trump's threats to annex Canada as the 51st state, Carney described Canada's ties to the U.S. as "weaknesses we must correct" and said the U.S. had fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.
In January, Carney referred to "American hegemony" in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying that greater integration with great powers created "vulnerabilities to be exploited."
In New York, however, the prime minister adopted a more conciliatory tone, describing the U.S. as "the most dynamic, resilient and inventive country the world has ever known." He said the founding values of the U.S., liberty, democracy, justice and openness, "should continue to serve as guides to its future and that of the world."
Carney acknowledged that while the U.S. and Canada have had disputes over the years, the countries have always worked through them.
He said a strong Canada would "help make America great again," and called for greater cooperation between the two countries in industries including aluminum, automobiles and critical minerals.
(Reporting by Michael Derby in New York and Maria Cheng in Ottawa; Editing by Ismail Shakil, Rod Nickel)
