United States President Donald Trump has withdrawn an ‍invitation for Canada ‍to join his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, in what appeared to be a retaliatory move following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum.

“Please ⁠let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation ​to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of ‍Leaders ever assembled, at any time,” Trump wrote on Thursday in a Truth Social post, addressing Carney directly.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

In his speech to world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Carney openly decried powerful nations using economic integration as weapons and tariffs as leverage, and urged nations to accept the end of a rules-based global order, receiving a rare standing ovation.

Trump recently threatened a trade war against European countries which oppose his bid to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

‘Middle powers’

Carney added that Canada, which recently signed a trade deal with China, can show how “middle powers” might act together to avoid being victimised by US hegemony.

Trump retorted that Canada “lives because of the United States”, and told ​listeners in Davos that Carney should be grateful for US generosity.

“Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he added, calling Carney by his first name.

The withdrawal of Canada’s invitation came hours after Trump officially launched the board in Davos. Last week, Carney’s office ‍said he had ⁠been invited to serve on the board and planned to accept.

Advertisement

While it was not immediately clear how many countries have signed on, member nations are known to include Argentina, Bahrain, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkiye. Other US allies, such as the United Kingdom, ‍France and Italy, have indicated they will not join for now.

The US president insisted “everyone wants to be a part” of the body, despite many US allies opting not to participate, and said nearly 30 members had already joined. He said some leaders told him they want to join but first require approval from their parliaments, specifically naming Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish President Karol Nawrocki.

Permanent members must help fund the board with a payment of $1bn each, according to Trump.

“Once this board is completely ‌formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to ⁠do,” Trump said in Switzerland on Thursday. “And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.”

The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, with Trump as chairman, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious.

The board’s establishment was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, and UN spokesperson ‌Rolando Gomez said that UN engagement with the board would only be in that context.