Prime Minister Mark Carney is using the U.N. General Assembly as a platform to advance a ‘middle powers’ approach and Canada’s push for trade and diplomatic cooperation amid U.S. tariff tensions.
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Canada’s role on the international stage is drawing added attention this year as Prime Minister Mark Carney moves quickly to build coalitions and advance what he describes as a “middle powers” strategy during the United Nations General Assembly’s annual meetings in New York.
Carney, who became prime minister in March 2025, has framed the international order in terms of increasing pressure from major powers and other global forces, arguing that countries with influence but not superpower status must coordinate to protect their interests and help preserve the rules-based system. Since a speech at the World Economic Forum in January, he has urged middle powers to work together and has used the U.N. setting to signal that approach to other governments.
His outreach comes against the backdrop of reported friction between Canada and the United States, including trade disputes and what the provided account describes as U.S. tariff demands. Carney rejected what he called unacceptable U.S. trade requests and “walked away” from talks last month, and the account describes him as hedging Canada’s long-standing reliance on U.S. trade and partnerships by courting other options.
At a news conference Tuesday at the U.N., Carney told Canadian media that partners are working with Canada because it is “predictable, reliable and principled,” even in a world he described as “anything but.” He positioned his approach at the General Assembly as a blend of values-based commitments and practical diplomacy, describing it as “values-based realism” that is both principled and pragmatic.
The strategy was reflected in Carney’s schedule around the General Assembly, which included multiple high-level engagements. The account says that an air traffic control problem at New York airports kept him from attending a Monday kickoff event at the U.N. for a new group intended to promote “partners for multilateralism.” On Tuesday, it reports he met with Jordan’s king and with the presidents of Chile and Angola, as well as an Emirati cabinet minister.
Carney also co-hosted a meeting focused on the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In connection with that, he pledged 100 million Canadian dollars for humanitarian and security funding for Palestinians. The account adds that Canada last year joined more than 150 countries that recognized a Palestinian state, despite objections from Israel and the United States.
On the question of whether Carney interacted directly with Donald Trump or members of his administration, the account says Carney responded that meeting large groups of world leaders creates an opportunity to connect with leaders “whom you don’t normally see.” It also notes that Carney attended Trump’s speech at the assembly, which the account describes as making no mention of Canada.
Beyond speeches and meetings, the account describes Carney’s broader economic goals for Canada. It says his government aims to double Canada’s non-U.S. trade within a decade, and that he convened hundreds of international investment firm executives at a Canadian investment summit last week. The account also says he is seeking a trade deal with India by year’s end.
Carney’s efforts have included diplomatic engagement with countries that had previously been a source of tension. The account notes that he visited Saudi Arabia, stating he was the first Canadian prime minister in over a quarter-century to do so. It says Trudeau’s government had criticized Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record, leading to a five-year diplomatic split, and that full diplomatic relations were restored in 2023. In July, the account says Carney responded to the controversy by saying he cares deeply about human rights and that engaging with other states does not amount to endorsing all their actions.
The account also describes Carney’s approach as active rather than distant, using language attributed to him that Canada is taking on the world “as it is,” not waiting for a world it wishes to have. He said that Canada’s strategy has already strengthened the country and that “we’ve only just begun.”
Foreign Minister Anita Anand is scheduled to deliver Canada’s U.N. speech on Saturday. The account says Anand described the address as being centered on implementing the “middle power strategy” articulated by Carney, including the idea that middle powers should act together because if they are not at the table, they are “on the menu.”
The wider context for Canada’s diplomacy at this year’s U.N. meetings includes domestic and public reaction to U.S. remarks and policies. The account characterizes Trump as having made comments about Canada potentially becoming the U.S.’s “51st state,” and it describes additional examples of Canadian sensitivities to branding and trade policy. It also says the prime minister enjoys high approval ratings at home.
For Canadian readers watching the U.N. agenda, the practical significance of the current push is the shift in emphasis it suggests: from traditional reliance on U.S. partnership as the default economic anchor toward a more explicit effort to diversify relationships, deepen working ties with like-minded states, and reinforce Canada’s negotiating position in a period of trade friction and geopolitical uncertainty.
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