President Donald Trump has yanked Canada’s spot from his ambitious Board of Peace, a move announced on Truth Social that targets PM Mark Carney directly. Without explaining the about-face, the decision amplifies strains between the two nations, fresh off Trump’s provocative Davos comment portraying Canada as existentially reliant on the U.S.
Carney fired back forcefully: Our nations share excellence in economic ties, defense, and culture, but ‘Canada is not alive because of America—Canada thrives because we are Canadian.’ This exchange sets the stage for Trump’s exclusionary step.
Designed to anchor global peace efforts, Trump’s board has drawn 25 confirmations from an initial 60 invitations, per Israeli reports. Participants span Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Egypt, Vietnam, and Mongolia—including eight Islamic states.
PM Narendra Modi was approached for India’s role in Gaza’s Israel-Hamas truce phase two, with India’s foreign office mulling it over. France, Britain, China, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and more boycotted the ceremony; Germany, Italy, Paraguay, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine hedged their bets.
Three-year memberships come with an alleged $1 billion price tag for permanence. This Canada rebuff, layered against the board’s uneven uptake, reveals Trump’s blend of bold peacemaking and punitive foreign policy, potentially straining longstanding alliances and inviting broader North American discord.