Prime Minister Mark Carney is huddling with his cabinet in Quebec City to chart out the government’s plan for the new year after using a closely watched moment on the world stage earlier this week to condemn the U.S. administration and signal a pivot for Canada.
They’re meeting behind closed doors in the province’s capital for two days starting Thursday for what’s being described as a planning forum ahead of Parliament’s return next week.
The prime minister heads into the meeting after wrapping a trip to China, Qatar and Switzerland, where he delivered a sobering speech at the World Economic Forum urging middle powers to stand up against “great powers” that use economic “coercion” like tariffs — a clear reference to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This is not your average cabinet retreat,” said Marci Surkes, chief strategy officer and managing director at Compass Rose, who previously ran policy and cabinet affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office of Justin Trudeau.
“The prime minister will need all of those ministers to understand that this is not business as usual and that they will not be comporting themselves as though these are normal times. This is almost a warlike footing.”
Since the House of Commons rose for the holiday break in December, the geopolitical picture has shifted.
The U.S. captured Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and the U.S. president has since indicated he would “run” the country while insisting that American oil companies move in on the country’s vast fossil fuel reserves.
Trump had also intensified his demands that the U.S. control Greenland, an independent territory of Denmark, including threatening to slap tariffs on European countries who oppose him. On Wednesday the president announced he was backing down on those threats after speaking with the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
In what has become a defining moment of his time in office, Carney used his Tuesday speech in Davos to call for middle powers like Canada to band together.
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it,” said Carney in his address.
“But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger and more just.”
It’s that framing that will dominate the cabinet meetings, said Surkes.
Carney warns allies to act together or be ‘on the menu’ of great powers
“This is a fundamental reset of how we view ourselves in the world and what we can accomplish. Who we saw as friend, now foe, who we see as foe, perhaps now friend,” she said.
“Ministers need to reimagine how they are doing their jobs.”
The official agenda of the meetings said the cabinet will focus on the economy, affordability and security, and ministers and secretaries of state are expected to discuss progress on their mandates.
U.S. trade will also be top of mind, as Trump’s tariffs on key sectors, such as autos, steel, aluminum and lumber, continue to cause those industries agony. A review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is scheduled for this year — with its outcome uncertain given Trump’s economic agenda and persistent threats.
Responding to Carney’s speech, Trump told the Davos forum Thursday “Canada lives because of the United States.”
“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us. By the way, they should be grateful but they’re not,” Trump said.
Carney will also be briefing his ministry about the controversial trade agreement he’s bringing home from the People’s Republic of China, which would see Canada allow an annual import quota of up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for China reducing its tariffs on canola, seafood and other products.
He’ll also be debriefing the premiers next week in Ottawa, where Ontario’s Doug Ford will undoubtedly share his criticism to Carney’s face.
Ford has already spoken out against the deal, saying it’s bad for Ontario’s auto industry.
He’s calling for Canadians to boycott Chinese-made EVs.
Ford ‘disappointed’ with Carney’s China EV deal, calls for boycott
“Mr. Carney is going to have to do some very fancy dancing at that first ministers’ meeting,” said Surkes.
“He needs alignment across the board.“
The dynamics in the House of Commons will be slightly different when MPs take their seats Monday for the first time in weeks.
On the final day before the break, Conservative Michael Ma crossed the floor, bringing the Liberals within striking distance of a majority government.
PM Carney introduces new Liberal MP Michael Ma at holiday party
Longtime Liberal Chrystia Freeland also vacated her seat this month after announcing she accepted a role advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A byelection for her Toronto seat hasn’t been called yet.
Carney himself has said more than one byelection is in the cards, suggesting further change is coming to the House.
“I don’t think the prime minister is looking at the polls and biting his nails and worried about how he’s going to manage this,” said Lori Turnbull, political science professor at Dalhousie University.
While international pressures have largely shaped the news cycle in 2026, Surkes said the Liberals can’t dismiss Canadians’ affordability concerns.
“That is the area in which the Conservatives have continued to outfox the Liberal Party for a number of years, really understanding and having their finger on the pulse of how Canadians have been hurting — the cost of food, inflation all around,” she said.
“Carney is still confronting that a little bit from the back heel.“
