Carney Says U.S. Partnership Poses Bigger Security Risk Than China Ties
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that the security risks of his country’s economic partnership with the United States are greater than the risks of deepening commercial ties with China, in the bluntest sign yet of how far Ottawa’s relationship with Washington has shifted.
Carney made the remarks at a press conference in Montreal, days before he is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. The Globe and Mail reported the remarks, which immediately drew attention on both sides of the border.
A striking reversal on China
Carney’s words mark a sharp turn from his own position during last year’s election campaign, when he named China as Canada’s biggest security threat. At the time, he pointed to Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and its pressure on Taiwan, and Canada’s intelligence service had concluded that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
On Tuesday, by contrast, the prime minister presented the risks of Canada’s close economic integration with the United States as the greater concern. The Brief’s account of the press conference says Carney also described the China partnership as deepening, with clear guardrails covering the areas where the two countries are involved.
Guardrails, not a blank cheque
Carney was careful to frame the shift as managed rather than unconditional. He has previously said the partnership would stop short of sensitive areas such as artificial intelligence, critical minerals and defence, where Ottawa sees the security stakes as too high to pursue deep collaboration with Beijing.
The distinction matters. Canada and the United States share one of the world’s largest bilateral trading relationships and deeply integrated supply chains, including in the car industry, where Carney has said it would not make sense to break up the closely linked production chain. His argument on Tuesday was not that the alliance itself is over, but that dependence on a single partner — however close — now carries risks of its own.
The road to Shenzhen
Reuters reported that Carney will use next week’s meeting to press Xi on non-interference, telling reporters he would stress that China and other countries should not interfere in Canada’s internal affairs. “The advantage of these meetings is you can raise issues directly and frankly,” Carney said.
Beijing has long denied seeking to interfere in Canadian domestic affairs. The Shenzhen meeting would be Carney’s second visit to China since taking office, and it comes as China has confirmed a three-way meeting involving Xi, Trump and Putin on the sidelines of the same summit.
Why Ottawa is looking east
The push to diversify is driven by the trade war. Canada has been hit hard by US tariffs since early 2025, and Ottawa has already allocated nearly C$44 billion in assistance for businesses and workers hit by US trade measures. Last week, his government’s budget aimed at cutting reliance on the United States set out tax cuts to lure investment, a C$25 billion sovereign wealth fund and billions more for defence.
Canada walked away from trade talks with Washington in August, after US demands that Carney said threatened Canadian sovereignty and cultural protections. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has said talks will continue after the US midterm elections, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated in October that the trade measures could leave Canadian real GDP about 1.4 percent lower after five years.
Beijing’s leverage has grown alongside China’s trillion-dollar trade surplus, and Ottawa’s calculation is that a second large market gives it room to bargain that it lacks on its own.
What happens next
Carney’s remarks will be read closely in Washington, where the administration has treated Canada’s outreach to Beijing with suspicion, and in Ottawa, where opposition critics have already questioned the wisdom of deepening ties with a government Canada’s own agencies have called a threat. The test comes next week in Shenzhen, when Carney sits down with Xi — and when the guardrails he described will face their first real examination.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Carney compare the US and China in this way?
He was making the case for diversification: that relying so heavily on one partner, the United States, now carries security risks of its own, and that deeper commercial ties with China, kept within guardrails, can reduce that exposure.
When will Carney meet Xi Jinping?
At next week’s APEC summit in Shenzhen, on the sidelines of the gathering on November 18-19. It would be his second visit to China since taking office.
Has Carney always taken this view of China?
No. During last year’s election campaign he named China as Canada’s biggest security threat, citing foreign interference and Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. His position has shifted as the trade dispute with Washington has deepened.
