Donald Trump has withdrawn an invitation for Canada to join his proposed “board of peace”, an initiative he says is designed to resolve global conflicts.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, the US president said the invitation to Canada had been rescinded. The message was directed at the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney.
Trump described the board as “the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled” and said Canada would no longer be considered for membership.
The “board of peace” was announced by Trump last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He claimed it would become one of the most consequential international bodies in history.
The board, which Trump is set to chair, was initially presented as a temporary body to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza. Under the proposed structure, permanent members would be required to contribute $1bn each to fund its work.
While several liberal democracies declined to join the initiative, Carney had earlier said Canada had accepted the idea in principle. However, he stressed that officials were still reviewing the structure, financing and operation of the body.
“Canada wants money to have maximum impact,” Carney told reporters earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Canada’s finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said the country did not intend to pay the $1bn fee required for a permanent seat on the board.
In a speech at Davos, Carney criticised what he described as a breakdown in the US-led rules-based international order, blaming it on Trump’s increasingly aggressive approach.
Trump appeared to respond directly to those remarks in his own address on Wednesday, saying: “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Carney rejected the claim the following day. “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States,” he said. “Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Neither the White House nor Carney’s office responded immediately to requests for comment on Thursday evening.
Trump said the board would have broad powers once fully established and would operate in coordination with the United Nations.
The initiative has been endorsed by a UN security council resolution linked to Trump’s Gaza peace plan. A UN spokesperson said engagement with the board would be limited to that framework.
Countries that have agreed to join include Argentina, Bahrain, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey. Other US allies, including Britain, France and Italy, have indicated they do not plan to participate at this stage.
