US President Donald Trump has withdrawn an invitation for Canada to join his newly constituted ‘Board of Peace.’
“Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining,” Trump said on Truth Social in a post addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who made headlines this week when he warned of a “rupture” in the US-led global order.
Carney, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, warned of the erosion of the rules-based international order traditionally associated with US leadership and urged middle powers to diversify trade and strengthen their resilience.
Following Carney’s speech, Trump took a swipe at the Canadian prime minister on Wednesday when he said Canada should be “grateful” to the US.
Relations between Canada and the US have been strained since Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and later halted trade talks because of an anti-tariff advertisement aired in the US.
Trump did not give a reason in Thursday evening’s post as to why he had decided to revoke Canada’s offer.
Canada’s Prime Minister had indicated last week he would accept Trump’s invite on principle.
But Ottawa had indicated in recent days that it would not pay the $1bn (£740m) membership fee which Trump has said permanent members will be asked to pay to help fund the board.
Trump’s withdrawal of Canada’s invitation came after Carney appeared to irk Trump with a speech that won a rare standing ovation this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The prime minister urged other “middle powers” to band together in the face of economic coercion by “greater powers”, although he did not mention the US president by name.
A day later, Trump told the gathering in the Swiss Alpine resort that Canada gets many “freebies” from the US and it “should be grateful”.
“Canada lives because of the United States,” Trump said. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
On Thursday, Carney swiped back at Trump as he delivered another speech back on home turf.
Speaking in Quebec, he said: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadians.”
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and overseeing reconstruction.
Some 60 nations have been invited to join the board, and about 35 have already signed up, according to the White House.
Those who have agreed to join so far include Argentina, Belarus, Morocco, Vietnam, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kosovo, Hungary, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
