Carney says he’s prepared for ‘extreme tail risk’ of US invading Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a new interview that he had geared up for an “extreme tail risk” of the U.S. invading his country, comments arriving in the wake of recent trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.

The Canadian leader, in a New York Times interview published Wednesday , was asked about President Trump’s push to acquire the U.S.’s northern neighbor. In response, Carney implied that he’d looked into the chance of military action led by the U.S. in depth, but he did not give specifics, according to the outlet.

“I think you have a responsibility in these roles to look at extreme tail risk. That’s just risk management. That’s not a base case,” Carney told the Times, adding that “it would be irresponsible not to” be prepared.

Tensions between Washington and Ottawa intensified in recent months after trade negotiations between the two countries fell apart. Trump launched a tariff war in response, with the U.S. and Canada slapping tariffs on each other’s goods.

Trump has also repeatedly pushed to acquire the U.S.’s northern neighbor, which Canada has rebuffed.

Earlier this month , Carney said his country had overrelied on “easy” economic links with the U.S.

“The past 40 years has been a period of deeper economic integration with the United States. Truth is, it was easy business, but it meant we relied too much on one economic partner. It’s clear that time is over,” Carney said in a video posted to YouTube at the time.

“This is why our plan, since I came into office, has been development and diversification, not denial, waiting to go back to some good old days, and not continued dependence,” he added.