Canadian leader Carney, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said the possibility of the United States launching military action against his country was low but that such a development could have severe consequences.
Carney said he had been in frequent contact with US President Donald Trump despite the trade talks between the two countries stalling last month. Asked whether he took Trump's threats to make Canada the "51st state" seriously, Carney said they were carefully examining the possibility of military action.
This is only a matter of risk management, not the main scenario. However, it would be irresponsible not to prepare for it.
The Canadian leader said they were systematically working to reduce dependence on critical technologies in order to make the country less vulnerable to threats originating from the United States. Space satellites and fighter jets were among these areas.
Carney stressed that Canada and the United States could reach a definitive trade agreement serving their common interests despite the deadlock in the trade negotiations.
The United States and Canada are imposing reciprocal tariffs
The US administration announced in July that it would impose a 50 percent tariff on certain goods imported from Canada, alleging that Canada had introduced discriminatory measures against American products. These tariffs took effect on August 22.
The Canadian government responded by announcing that tariffs of 15 percent, 25 percent or 50 percent would be imposed on certain US products. Canada's tariffs began to apply on September 8.