Text of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ‘Forward Guidance’ video

Prime Minister Mark Carney released a video Tuesday just hours after his government made good on a promise to implement retaliatory tariffs on the United States.

Those tariffs respond to American duties imposed last month by U.S. President Donald Trump, after the two countries could not come to an agreement to settle some outstanding trade irritants.

Carney spent much of the video, titled “Forward Guidance: A Stronger Canada,” laying out Canada’s response to Trump’s protectionist trade policies, including expanding trade with other countries and building more capacity domestically.

Here is the text of his remarks, per the transcript of the YouTube video.

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I started these videos so that I could talk with you directly about the challenges we face, the solutions we need, and how we can build Canada Strong together. In other words, for moments like this.

For the past year and a half, we have been building: building the very things that bring our communities together that make them stronger that stand the test of time.

On factory floors, like the one I’m on right now at Caivan, a factory-built housing company, in our communities, in our mines, our ports.

Right across Canada, Canadians have been building strong. Building new ways to get our goods to the world, to drive investment and to create jobs here at home.

We are on the right road to a better future, so even though the U.S. trade actions will cause us some challenges in the short term, we are just going to move faster, get shovels in the ground quicker, make it even more attractive to invest here, and break down more barriers between provinces so we can be our own best customer.

We will keep building on our strengths, never forgetting who we are.

Canada is a nation forged in adversity, that prides itself on doing what is right, not what is easy.

Canada is a nation forged in adversity — that prides itself on doing what is right, not what is easy.
A nation that knows we are always stronger together.

Canada came to life, in many ways, in response to American aggression. Our first prime minister, Sir John A MacDonald, recognized the threat of an expansionist United States for what it was and raced to unite this land.

He knew that agreements, such as Confederation, could only do so much, and that Canada needed an economic and military corridor that could connect our peoples from east to west. And so, at an incredible human and financial cost, Canadians took what was a country on paper, and we made it real.

They built an iron spine. Almost 5000 km of railroad track, from east to west, the Canadian Pacific Railway, stitched together our country and made our presence undeniable. And with it, he created the National Policy, which allowed Canadian businesses and Industries to succeed by building Canada from within.

Now, this wasn’t enough to see off the American threat for good. In fact, it’s has flared up periodically in our 160-year relationship.

This isn’t the first time Americans have tried to use tariffs to break us.

Before becoming President, William McKinley, was an Ohio congressman known as the Napoleon of protection. He championed the Tariff Act of 1890, that put 50 per cent tariffs on our imports to the United States.

Does that sound familiar?

McKinley’s 50% Tariff was meant to pressure us into dependence and eventually annexation by the United States.

In reality, it did the opposite. Rather than getting weaker, Canada grew stronger. Instead of becoming more dependent, we diversified by changing who we did business with. And at this same time, inflation rose in the United States, they had a financial crisis and a four year economic depression.

Our forebearers understood that building this improbable country in an inhospitable land wouldn’t always be easy. But they also knew they could rely on one of Canadian’s strongest traits: Resilience.

Canada Strong isn’t about just withstanding this crisis, it’s about coming out of it stronger, more resilient, more independent than when we started.

Canada Strong isn’t about just withstanding this crisis, it’s about coming out of it stronger, more resilient, more independent than when we started.

It’s about ensuring that no country can hold us hostage. And that we can live how we want to live.

By now you’ve likely heard something about the collapse of our trade talks with the United States, and that we simply could not accept what they were proposing.

It’s a shame. Because a mutually beneficial trade agreement between Canada and the United States is possible.

One that respects our sovereignty. One that builds on our complementary strengths. One that lowers costs for families on both sides of the border. One that creates jobs for our workers.

Canada has always worked towards these goals, even while America’s attention and dedication to them has wavered. We have consistently proposed long-term partnerships, while the U.S. has too often demanded short-term transactions.

At the 11th hour, they were still pursuing restrictions on our ability to protect and promote the French language and our culture, they wanted a say in our future trade agreements with other countries, and they were offering terms that would, over time, undermine some of most important industries, including autos, steel, and forest products.

In short, they were asking far too much and offering far too little.

We worked in good faith to reach a fair deal. But since a fair deal wasn’t on the table, we made the right choice: to walk away from a bad one.

We worked in good faith to reach a fair deal. But since a fair deal wasn’t on the table, we made the right choice: to walk away from a bad one.

The most fundamental issue is that the cumulative U.S. demands revealed that they wanted us to become even more reliant on them, not less. In too many areas, they wanted dependency, not a true economic partnership.

Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us, so they can own us. And I promised, “that will never, ever happen.” Because just like in MacDonald’s day, our future won’t be decided in Washington, but across Canada.

And so, I want to talk to you today about our economic plan, a plan that will make us stronger. Because rest assured, we’ve been planning for this scenario. Our response is three pronged.

First, we are matching the new U.S. measures dollar-for-dollar with new tariffs of our own.

I don’t believe in escalating the conflict, that’s not constructive, but our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, companies and communities. We can’t let American goods into Canada tariff free while they charge our companies to export to them.

Second, we’re supporting Canadians, because, up here, we take care of each other.

The harsh reality is that the Americans tariffs will hurt some Canadians more than others, and that was by design. We’re putting real support behind the people and businesses caught in the middle of a fight they didn’t start. We will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to bridge them to a better future.

We’re starting with $7.5 billion in new help. This means fast access to capital for small businesses, income support and retraining for workers who need it, and targeted help for the sectors hit hardest: autos, forestry, steel, aluminum.

This is on top of nearly $25 billion already delivered since the start of this thing.

That’s what we do in this country: we stand up for each other when times get hard.

This won’t be easy, and I won’t pretend otherwise.

Canadians have faced difficult stretches before, and what’s carried us through has never been any one measure. It’s been Canadians looking out for each other.

But Canadians have faced difficult stretches before, and what’s carried us through has never been any one measure. It’s been Canadians looking out for each other.

In fact, the most powerful actions have come from you, buying Canadian and travelling in Canada. Decisions at the kitchen table, not the boardroom table. Every time we choose to buy Canadian and travel in Canada, we are sending a message that nobody is in the stands, 40 million of us are on the ice.

I thank you. The same spirit is behind making Canada Strong for All. Standing up for you for as long as it takes.

The past 40 years have been a period of deeper economic integration with the United States.

It was easy business, but it meant we relied too much on one economic partner. That time is over.

This is why our plan since I came into office has been development and diversification, not denial — waiting to go back to some good old days — and continued dependence.

For the past year and a half, we have been steering our economy towards trusted partners. We’ve signed 20 trade and defence agreements across four different continents.

These represent real opportunities for Canadians and Canadian businesses. They’re good for today and great for tomorrow. These are more than deals, they’re agreements. Deals privilege the few; agreements benefit the many.

These are more than deals, they’re agreements. Deals privilege the few; agreements benefit the many.

For example: In July of this year, we announced that Montreal-based Marconi Technologies would be the first Canadian company to get a contract through SAFE, Europe’s defence procurement program. This one is a multi-million dollar deal to design and produce tactical radios.

Canada can strike these agreements because we are trusted, because we are reliable, and because we have what the world wants.

Another good example is Alberta’s Antler Valley farm in Alberta, which has been part of the community for five generations, dating back to the late 1800s. It’s one of Western Canada’s top malt producers, growing malt barley, wheat, peas, and canola.

Because our trade diversification opens opportunities with China, the family can now sell their canola at higher prices. This puts more money in Canadian producers’ pockets and more certainty for the future.

The world is opening its doors to us, making Canada the best-connected economy in the world. Our businesses now enjoy tariff-free access to 1.5 billion consumers. Over the next six months, we will double that number.

I want to be very clear, building at home and diversifying trade abroad was never our plan B. It’s been our Plan A from the start.

I want to be very clear, building at home and diversifying trade abroad was never our plan B. It’s been our Plan A from the start.

Canada will continue to pursue this path to build Canada Strong, because we’re on the right road and it is working.

We are moving rapidly to build major infrastructure — new ports, mines, and energy corridors from every region of the country that now represent $500 billion in new private investment. Projects that will help Canada build bigger, move faster and trade more with the world.

We’re building affordable housing, through Build Canada Homes, using Canadian materials, ingenuity and labour.

We’re building local infrastructure that Canadians rely on every day, with new hospitals, community centres, public transit lines, and over 100 projects on the way across the country and tying it all together, we’re doubling the capacity of our electricity grid by 2050 so Canadians have access to affordable and sustainable energy for generations to come. Because controlling our energy means controlling our destiny.

I want you to picture it. The nation-building that Canadians pursued in the 19th and 20th centuries ran along a horizontal line. The railway and the Trans-Canada Highway that stitched us together from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Now we are developing around it, north and wouth. A new iron spine, with an electric grid that connects each and every one of us, regardless of where we live.

Churchill Falls powering our communities and businesses with clean energy, enough to power every car and truck in Canada. A new pipeline, connecting Alberta’s resources to Pacific ports and Asian markets. New transmission corridors linking our energy wealth to the world.

New nuclear in Ontario, and transformations of the port of Churchill in Manitoba, and the Pacific Gateway in B.C., connecting Canadians, connecting with new partners in Asia and Europe.

And just as we are connecting physically, we are focused on building the right connections virtually, including through AI. AI is a critical subject, and one I want to speak directly about in a future conversation with you, but know this: maintaining and protecting our sovereignty and values in technology and artificial intelligence will be just as important as in big projects and infrastructure.

We are stronger now than when the United States started this trade war. More unified, more determined, more ambitious.

We are stronger now than when the United States started this trade war. More unified, more determined, more ambitious.

Our non-U.S. exports are up sharply and are on track to double them over the next decade. Foreign direct investment in Canada is at its highest level in two decades, running at twice the rate of our nearest G7 competitor.

Canada is now the most attractive country in the world for infrastructure investment. Our growth has been accelerating, and it is projected to be the second-fastest in the G7 this year and next.

With a resilient economy and the strongest fiscal position in the G7, we have everything we need to pivot and prosper.

There’s always a cost to action. But it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still.

There’s always a cost to action. But it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still.

This is about who we are as Canadians. It’s about our livelihoods and the country we leave to our kids. It’s about making Canada strong, and the compassion that makes us who we are.

The truth is, adversity only makes us stronger, it always has. We are maîtres chez nous. (“masters of our own house”)

What we’re doing is working. And we are just getting started. Let’s keep going.

Thanks for your time. I know it’s precious.