Lloyd Axworthy accuses Carney of taking ‘bootlicking’ approach to Trump

Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy speaks at a memorial service in Winnipeg on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

OTTAWA — Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is accusing Prime Minister Mark Carney of taking a “bootlicking” approach to U.S. President Donald Trump at the expense of Canadian values.

“You have to be principled, you have to be tactical, you have to be pragmatic. But you also have to be tough and know what you stand for,” Axworthy said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

“Flattery is always part of the game, but you can take it to the point where you actually become unctuous.”

Axworthy spoke to The Canadian Press after issuing an online broadside last Sunday against the Carney government.

Axworthy, whom prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed as foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 2000, oversaw the Ottawa Treaty that banned landmines in numerous countries. He has been a prominent voice on international relations, including through advocacy with the World Refugee and Migration Council.

In a blog post following the NATO summit — where alliance members agreed to Trump’s demand for a massive increase in the alliance’s defence spending target — Axworthy accused Carney and other world leaders of bending a knee to Trump.

“NATO now risks letting one craven, mendacious man set the tone for a strategy of unrestrained militarism,” Axworthy wrote, arguing it’s dangerous to let defence policy be decided by “the abusive, racist bullying of Donald Trump.”

He also argued that the summit did not adequately push to ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and instead committed alliance members to a level of defence spending that will lead to cuts to social programs and likely foreign aid.

“A pattern is now set: Trump harrumphs, we comply. What else will we quietly surrender? Cultural industries? Environmental standards, agriculture security, Arctic sovereignty?” he wrote.

In the interview, Axworthy singled out NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s exchange with Trump during the NATO summit — which saw Rutte refer to the president as “daddy” — as an “embarrassing” moment.

He also said his concerns have been further bolstered by Carney’s decision to rescind the digital services tax that targeted American tech giants, as the prime minister and Trump undertake what he calls “secret” trade negotiations with no parliamentary scrutiny.

“When do we stop pretending it’s all part of some clever negotiating strategy that justifies bootlicking in hopes of tariff concessions?” he wrote in the blog post.

Trump suggested in March that the U.S. might sell allies fighter jets that lack the same capabilities as those used by the U.S. military. Axworthy told The Canadian Press it’s unwise to accept a situation where “the Pentagon controls the black boxes in your airplanes and your destroyers.”

Axworthy said he sees the Carney government pushing ahead with foreign policy and domestic legislation focused on economic security, while ignoring the need to invest in diplomacy to prevent conflicts and defend Canadian values abroad.

Instead of solely focusing on military spending, he said Ottawa could mobilize investment and governments of various countries to have better freshwater management, because numerous countries are on track for major droughts that can lead to armed conflict.

Axworthy said Carney’s major-projects legislation, Bill C-5, has undercut reconciliation efforts with First Nations and the government “ignored” Indigenous Peoples in its rush to get the bill passed.

“It’s way past (just) being consulted. They have to be partners. They have to be involved. They’re basically the third pillar of this country,” the former Manitoba MP said of Indigenous Peoples.

“You’re going to get the machinery working, but you’re going to leave a lot of roadkill along the way.”

The government fast-tracked the sweeping legislation and opted against shortening the 12-week summer break to give it more study.

Carney’s office has not yet responded for a request for comment.

The prime minister himself was extolling the virtues of Canadian democracy Tuesday.

“We find ourselves in a situation where our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms — attacks that we must resist,” Carney said in his Canada Day remarks.

“In a world that’s fraught with division … we’ve decided not to pull apart and fight, but to come together and to build.”

Axworthy noted that Carney came from a life outside politics and said that’s among the reasons why he endorsed Chrystia Freeland instead of Carney in this year’s Liberal leadership race.

“I don’t think he’s ever knocked on that door or gone to a constituency meeting until he became a leadership candidate,” he said in the interview.

Axworthy repeated an idea he floated in January — that Ottawa should work with the countries Trump has talked of absorbing to mount a campaign to promote rules-based trade and peace in the Arctic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press