In a Jan. 22 social media post, President Trump said, “The Peace Committee is withdrawing Canada’s invitation to participate.”
What is President Trump’s “Peace Commission”?
Members of President Trump’s Peace Commission include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, and Belarus.
President Donald Trump will remove Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney from his peace committee. The peace commission was initially created by President Trump to help rebuild Gaza, but has expanded to include other conflicts.
“The Peace Council will withdraw at any time Canada’s invitation to participate in the most prestigious summit ever convened,” Trump said in a social media post directed at Carney on January 22.
President Trump withdrew his invitation to Carney after the Canadian leader gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in which he spoke of a “disconnect” with the United States over tariffs and Greenland.
“We are in the midst of a disconnect, not a transition,” Carney said at an event in Davos, Switzerland, on January 20. “Great powers have begun to use economic integration as a weapon.”
Mr. Carney’s speech attracted a lot of attention, with Mr. Trump incensed by describing the chaos in the “world order” in which “great power geopolitics is unfettered” and calling on “middle powers” to “build a new order.” President Trump criticized Carney as ungrateful in his speech at Davos.
“By the way, Canada is getting a lot of freebies from us. They should be grateful, but they’re not,” Trump said. “I saw your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn’t very grateful. But they should thank us, Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Mark, please remember that next time you speak.”
Mr. Carney was one of dozens of world leaders Mr. Trump invited to serve on the peace commission. To date, the leaders of more than 20 countries have participated in the Council, including Armenia, Egypt, Hungary, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan. However, other leaders are reluctant to participate.
The Council’s broad mandate has raised questions about whether it could come into conflict with the United Nations. The organization’s charter states that it is committed to “ensuring lasting peace in areas affected by or threatened by conflict.”
Carney’s speech and Trump’s response are the latest signs of continuing tensions between the United States and Canada. President Trump has stated that he wants to make Canada the 51st state, and has shown an active stance toward trade relations with the country. Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States remain unresolved.
Contribution: Bert Jansen, Reuters
