Liberal PM Attacks Trump’s Greenland Push As He Cozies Up With America’s No. 1 Enemy On Foreign Trip

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney flatly rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to bring Greenland under U.S. control, declaring that the Arctic territory’s future should be decided by Greenland and Denmark.

During a visit to China, Carney urged NATO allies to “respect their commitments” and stressed Canada’s support for Danish and Greenlandic sovereignty. His comments came after he declared a “new world order” in Beijing and praised the “leadership of President Xi Jinping.”

“The future of Greenland is a decision for Greenland and for the Kingdom of Denmark,” Carney told reporters at a press conference in Beijing following talks with Xi, according to Politico. “We are NATO partners with Denmark, and so our full partnership stands.”

The Trump administration has intensified its push in recent weeks, arguing that Greenland — a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — is vital to U.S. security interests.

The White House said in January that the president is exploring a range of options, including “utilizing the U.S. military.” Trump has insisted that anything short of full U.S. control is “unacceptable,” though he has not confirmed whether force would be used.

“No, you’re saying that. I didn’t say it,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked by a reporter whether he would attempt to acquire Greenland “by force.”

Carney emphasized that Canada remains “full-square behind” its NATO obligations, citing Articles 2 and 5 of the treaty, which call for the promotion of peaceful international relations and declare that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

Trump has framed the Greenland push as a response to Russian and Chinese activity near the territory, warning that Denmark and Greenland are ill-prepared to defend themselves.

Nordic leaders, however, have dismissed the idea that China and Russia pose an immediate threat to the region, an assessment shared by Moscow.

Carney also said Friday he found “much alignment” between his views on Greenland and those of Xi, according to CTV News.

Despite downplaying the risks cited by Trump, several European NATO countries — including Germany, Sweden, France, the UK, and the Netherlands — sent a small number of military personnel to Greenland this week for joint exercises with Denmark.

“I don’t think troops in Europe impact the president’s decision-making process or impacts his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all,” said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Thursday in response to the deployments.

Carney, meanwhile, is in the middle of a multi-day visit to Beijing, marking the first by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade.

“The world has changed much since that last visit, I believe the progress that we have made in the partnership sets us up well for the new world order,” said Carney.

Asked Friday to clarify his use of the phrase “new world order,” Carney explained in a more than 2-minute response that “the multilateral system that has been developing these is being eroded.”

“So the question is, what gets built in that place?” said Carney. “Is it just on a bilateral basis? Or where do like minded countries in certain areas — like minded countries, just to be clear, it doesn’t mean you agree on everything … you will have different coalitions that are formed.”

China and Canada announced Friday that they had reached a wide-ranging trade agreement, including an expansion of Chinese electric vehicles in the Canadian market, a 70% reduction of tariffs on Canadian canola seed and a drop in tariffs on Canadian seafood exports.

“Canada’s new government is working with urgency and determination to diversify our trade partnerships and catalyse massive new levels of investment,” the partnership announcement stated. “As the world’s second-largest economy, China presents enormous opportunities for Canada in this mission.”