Murray Wood: Carney not rising to Trump's threats around CUSMA
Murray Wood says U.S. President Donald Trump seems to be at the bluster-and-threaten stage of trade negotiations. He say...
AGHAGOWER — The United States will play a role in a new world order where no one institution or country will have all the answers, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday.
“What one can’t do at this point in a rapidly shifting world order is to rely on one set of institutions, one grouping, one country to provide the answers,” he said during a visit to Ireland, ahead of Monday’s G7 meeting in Évian-les-Bains, France.
“You have to know what you want, what you need, how you serve your citizens, and then go out and get it.”
The prime minister said a day earlier the “strands” of a new world order could be woven at that upcoming summit.
In response to a question about what role the U.S. could play in that new order, Carney said some countries will be on the same page about issues like taking action on artificial intelligence and child safety.
“Canada, very much at the forefront, will take child safety seriously and feel that laissez-faire is not the answer to child safety. And so we will take steps. Not everyone around that table will,” he said.
“In some of those circumstances, the United States will be foursquare behind…but not all.”
Last week, the Liberal government introduced an online harms bill that includes a plan to force social media companies to ban kids under 16 from their platforms. Bill C-34 would also regulate AI chatbots.
International support for age restrictions on social media has been mounting since Australia became the first country to introduce a ban, with countries including Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea introducing or considering similar measures.
The Liberal government is also set to introduce a new privacy bill this week that it has said will include protections for children’s data. It’s also expected to include measures ensuring Canadians’ data is not used for surveillance pricing.
Carney was asked about the move by U.S. President Donald Trump to block use of Anthropic’s latest AI models by foreign nationals. Anthropic said Friday it has taken the models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, offline to comply with the directive.
The prime minister said Canada is in contact with the U.S. and there is a “good flow of information there.”
“There are some risks that they have identified. And I understand the American authorities taking those risks seriously, which is why they’ve taken a step,” Carney said.
Carney said the situation shows there is a need to diversify when it comes to AI models.
“The situation we’re in collectively right now with Mythos and Fable is something that can happen with over-reliance,” Carney said. “Nobody’s done anything wrong in this situation. But we will have done something wrong if we just accept this, don’t take the lesson, don’t build out and diversify.”
Carney told reporters in County Mayo that the standards, regulations and responsibility of AI will be part of discussions at the G7 summit. He said that, for any technology, it’s crucial to have people at the centre.
Carney also said his strategy at the G7 will also be about ad-hoc coalitions that will differ depending on the issue, and that Canada is looking for partners.
Carney predicted the meeting will have a “heavy geopolitical element” given the war in Iran.
“The moral choice is to do everything we can to establish a ceasefire and build that into a durable ceasefire, and ultimately peace in the region, including Lebanon,” he said.
He said there are “encouraging signs” and that it’s the responsibility of the G7 and other countries that will be attending the meeting to build on progress that has been established.
Carney also played down expectations he would talk about trade directly with the U.S. president at the summit.
Trump said last week he is “not looking to renew” the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA, ahead of a July 1 deadline to rubber-stamp a 16-year extension. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he expects to see bilateral agreements negotiated with the United States.
Carney said Sunday the principal discussions on trade will be held between each country’s respective negotiators.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2026.
Catherine Morrison and Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
