Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denied Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's claim that, in a private call with President Donald Trump, he had backtracked on some of the remarks from his much-discussed speech in Davos, Switzerland, last week.
"To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos," Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday morning, pushing back on Bessent's remarks from the night before.
Bessent, in a Fox News interview Monday night had said Carney was "very aggressively walking back some of the unfortunate remarks he made at Davos" during a call with Trump earlier in the day.
In his address to the World Economic Forum, Carney had declared that the established U.S.-led world order was in the "midst of a rupture." And he pointedly warned that the "bargain" of an American hegemony "no longer works," adding that "great powers" have exploited and weaponized economic tools like tariffs.
The speech — which came as Trump was aggressively pressuring Europe to sell Denmark-owned Greenland to the U.S. — received a rare standing ovation at Davos.
The speech reflected "that Canada was the first country to understand the change in U.S. trade policy that he had initiated, and we're responding to that," Carney said, according to video of the remarks.
He confirmed that the call took place, saying Trump had called him and that the two leaders discussed topics ranging from the Ukraine war to "Arctic security" — shorthand for the Greenland controversy.
The context of the call was "what Canada is doing positively to build new partnerships around the world," including "our arrangement with China," Carney said.
Canada is one of multiple U.S. trading partners that have responded to the Trump administration's aggressive and unpredictable use of tariffs by looking to forge ties with other major economies, such as China and India.
Carney said he boasted to Trump of Canada striking "12 new deals on four continents in six months — he was impressed."
Asked to clarify that he did not walk back his speech remarks during the call with Trump, Carney said, "No."
Trump had criticized Carney over the Davos speech, accusing him and his country of being ungrateful to the U.S.
On Friday, Trump rescinded Canada's invitation to join the "Board of Peace." And over the weekend, Trump threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian imports if Ottawa strikes a trade deal with China.
Carney said Sunday that Canada does not intend to pursue a free trade deal with China.
The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Carney's remarks.
