Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Record on Latin America

Carney took office amid drastic changes in U.S. trade policy, including the imposition on tariffs on Canada and Mexico. In February, President Trump formalized his intention to implement 25 percent tariffs on both USCMA partners—as well as 10 percent tariffs on Canadian energy. Those tariffs were implemented on March 4. On March 6, he exempted goods covered by USMCA from these tariffs for one month, giving them an April 2 start date. 

Carney took office as prime minister on March 14, two days after Trump implemented aluminum and steel tariffs on Canada and other nations.

Carney did not speak to Trump for the first two weeks of his tenure as prime minister. He did say on March 18 that Trump’s tariffs "called into the question the validity" of USMCA. On March 27, he called for a “broad renegotiation” of Canada’s trade relationship with the United States, just as Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on Canada's auto sector.

On March 28, the two leaders spoke. The call, which included a moment where Trump brought up annexing Canada, did not result in a tariff delay. Carney said, “We can make progress in this situation, but this is different from the world of 1990 and the world of NAFTA and even the USMCA.”

Carney then spoke to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on April 1, the day before the start date for tariffs on USMCA products, to discuss increasing bilateral trade. “Canada and Mexico are focused on deepening our trade relations and building stronger economies, together,” Carney said on X.

On April 2, the Trump administration declared USMCA goods would continue to be exempt from tariffs. The next day, Carney announced a set of retaliatory measures to the U.S. tariffs on Canada’s auto industry. That included 25 percent tariffs on U.S. vehicles non-compliant with USMCA. The measures do not apply to vehicle parts, nor automotive content from Mexico. 

During his campaign, Carney said that Canada does not need to cut a quick deal with the United States to avoid trade pains. He expressed hopes that domestic efforts will grow Canada’s economy, giving Ottawa more leverage in negotiations. USMCA is due for formal review in July 2026.

There are around 945,000 Latin American and Caribbean migrants in Canada, according to the 2021 census. Many arrived from the English-speaking Caribbean (37.2 percent) and Haiti (10.6 percent), as well as Mexico (9.6 percent) and Colombia (8.5 percent).

During an April 16 French-language debate, Prime Minister Carney was asked to speak on the rising numbers of Haitian asylum-seekers and migrants crossing into Quebec in 2025, some of whom are believed to have transited from the United States due to changes to U.S. immigration policy under Trump. While acknowledging that it was “a question of humanity” involving “some of the most vulnerable people in North America,” Carney suggested that most asylum-seekers entering Canada from the United States should be sent back under the terms of the U.S.–Canada Safe Third Country agreement. The treaty between the two countries stipulates that these asylum-seekers must have first sought protection in the United States and will only be considered for asylum in Canada under exceptional circumstances, including family reunification or if the claimant is an unaccompanied minor. 

More generally, Carney intends to continue the Liberal Party’s recent efforts to reduce both permanent and temporary immigration. In October 2024, Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor, unveiled plans to lower the annual cap on new permanent admissions from 500,000 to 365,000 by 2027 and to reduce the proportion of temporary residents, including those on employment and student visas, from 7.25 percent of the population to 5 percent.

Although Venezuela did not feature on the campaign trail, Carney has experience dealing with the administration of Nicolás Maduro from his time as governor of the Bank of England. During the last two years of his tenure there, the Venezuelan administration sought to retrieve over $1 billion of gold reserves held in the Bank of England as the country weathered an economic crisis marked by unprecedented levels of hyperinflation.

The Bank of England denied the administration’s request in January 2019 citing “compliance-related reasons,” a reference to the United Kingdom’s lack of recognition of authorities appointed by Maduro or the National Constituent Assembly—in this case, the president of Venezuela’s Central Bank (BCV), Calixto Ortega—as well as concerns about the proposed transfer running counter to international sanctions and contributing to “criminal activity.” 

As part of the negotiations, officials at the Carney-led Bank of England fielded at least one meeting with Ortega and other authorities from the BCV in December 2018. Soon after, Carney received communication from Juan Guaidó, a Venezuelan opposition figure who served as interim president (2019–2023), asking that he reject “the illegitimate transaction.” Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton also reportedly lobbied the Bank of England to deny the Maduro administration’s request to access the gold. 

As UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Carney was tasked with helping to encourage private financing for projects to reduce greenhouse gasses and move to a net zero world. He launched the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) in 2021, which pushes to mobilize capital toward an energy transition. In 2023, at the UN Latin American and Caribbean Climate Week in Panama City, Carney launched GFANZ’s network in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

In his UN role, Carney attended the G20 in Sao Paulo in February 2024 where he participated in several events on financing climate finance in Brazil, including one with Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. Later that year, in October, he headlined an event launching Brazil’s Climate and Ecological Transformation Investment platform with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environmental Minister Marina Silva. 

From 2020 to January of 2025, Carney worked at Brookfield, a Canadian-American investment firm. He initially was tasked with leading the firm’s environmental and social responsibility initiatives before shifting to serve as chairman of the firm’s asset management wing.

The firm has an extensive presence in Latin America with $57 billion of assets under management in South America alone, including holdings of ports and energy infrastructure. 

Some of the firm’s dealings in Latin America, including in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, came under question during the campaign. The mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, spoke out against Carney and Brookfield, saying they are “making massive profits off a toxic contract” related to the purchase of shares in a road project from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. The sale was conducted before Carney joined Brookfield. The government of Lima is suing Brookfield in New York. 

In Brazil, Brookfield’s assets include over a quarter million hectares of land in the country. The firm was accused of deforesting areas to convert into farmland. The firm later sold the farms.