What to know
- Trump announced he was withdrawing Canada’s invitation to join the Board of Peace after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, where he criticized U.S. dominance and the fading “rules-based order.”
- The Board of Peace is a new international body tied to a White House plan for Gaza, tasked with reconstructing the area after the conflict.
- While 35 countries have joined the board, others declined, and Canada had already expressed hesitation over the reported US$1-billion participation fee.
U.S. President Donald Trump has uninvited Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney from joining his newly-constituted world initiative for Gaza.
On Thursday, Trump announced Canada was no longer invited to join the Board of Peace through a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Dear Prime Minister Carney: 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,” he wrote.
The president’s message comes after Carney delivered a 16-minute speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after which he received a standing ovation and international recognition, where he suggested that the “rule-based order is fading” and that the audience should rethink geopolitics in “an era of great power rivalry.”
The prime minister also said Canada was compliant with an “American hegemony” for too long, and suggested the country is now looking into building new relationships.
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WHAT IS THE BOARD OF LEADERS?
Trump first launched the Board of Leaders on Thursday at the World Economic Forum, in Davos.
The organization is a part of the president’s efforts to manage the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which includes a 20-point plan that the White House says will lead to “lasting peace, stability, reconstruction, and prosperity in the region.”
The Board of Peace, which has been joined by 35 countries, would have a role in ensuring accountability, mobilizing resources, and providing a strategy to rebuild the Gaza territory following the conflict, according to the White House.
“We’re committed to ensuring Gaza is demilitarized, properly governed and beautifully rebuilt. It’s going to be a great plan, and that’s where the Board of Peace really started and I think we can spread out to other things, as we succeed with Gaza,” Trump said during the launch on Thursday.
The president also said that the Board of Peace will operate in conjunction with the United Nations, and represents a “much safer future for the world.”
“I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential [and] has not used it. I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here coupled with the United Nations is going to be really something very, very unique for the world,” he added.
Earlier this week, Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the federal government was not planning on paying the USD $1-billion fee required from countries to join the board.
“There [are] a lot of details to be worked out, but one thing which is clear is that Canada is not going to pay if we were to join the Board of Peace,” Champagne told reporters Tuesday morning in Davos.
Before Champagne’s comments and Trump’s invitation withdrawal, Carney had accepted an initial invitation to join the board, although his officials said they were still working on the specifics, according to media reports.
WHO IS A PART OF THE BOARD OF PEACE?
According to the White House, Trump will lead the vision for the board, as a chairman for the organization, joined by an Executive Board of appointed American political leaders and entrepreneurs.
The board has been joined by 35 countries so far, including:
- Argentina
- Albania
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Egypt
- Hungary
- Israel
- Indonesia
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Morocco
- Mongolia
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
Meanwhile, France and Slovenia have declined Trump’s offer to join the board on Thursday.
