OTTAWA — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked Canada’s military capabilities Monday, joking that the country could deploy submarines from West Edmonton Mall against the United States as relations between the two countries deteriorate.“We’re not at war with Canada,” Bessent told CNBC. “How are we going to be at war with Canada? What are they going to do, take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us?”.Bessent made the remark after being asked whether Canada and the United States had entered a tit-for-tat trade war following the collapse of negotiations between Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government and the Trump administration.“Well, I don’t think you can be in a tit-for-tat with someone who’s 13 times larger than you are,” Bessent said.When interviewer Sara Eisen noted that Canadian officials said the country was doing well, Bessent responded: “What else are they going to say?”The submarine comment referred to a former tourist attraction at West Edmonton Mall, which once operated recreational submarines in its indoor lake..Canada’s military actually operates four Victoria-class submarines: HMCS Victoria, HMCS Windsor, HMCS Corner Brook and HMCS Chicoutimi.Ottawa is also negotiating with German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for a new fleet of up to 12 conventionally powered submarines capable of operating under Arctic ice. The first four are expected to arrive in 2034.Bessent accused Carney of turning the trade dispute into “a political shouting match” for his own electoral benefit.“He came to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump agenda,” Bessent said. “He was 20 points behind in the polls and then he started this.”“It’s unfortunate that he’s not doing what’s best for the Canadian people. He’s doing what’s best for the Liberal Party, what’s best for Mark Carney, and in the long run, the Canadian people are going to see through that.”Bessent said Washington had offered Canada “the best trade deal of any country on the globe” before Carney walked away “at the last minute.”Carney has disputed the Trump administration’s account of the negotiations.The prime minister said he suspended talks after Washington introduced last-minute demands that were “unfair” and “uneconomic” and called the reliability of any agreement into question.The United States subsequently imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $28 billion in Canadian goods. Ottawa announced it would match the duties dollar for dollar, with its countermeasures scheduled to take effect September 8.
