Carney prepared for risk that Trump might order military action against Canada: report

Carney prepared for risk that Trump might order military action against Canada: report STEVEN CHASE SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER MERCEDES STEPHENSON PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO UPDATED 53 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a media availability on the sidelines of the the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Prime Minister Mark Carney over the past year has prepared for the unlikely risk that President Donald Trump might order military action against Canada, a news report says. The New York Times, citing an interview with Mr. Carney, said he had described the probability of such action as “extreme tail risk.” It’s a term used in finance and risk management, and refers to a very rare event that would cause enormous damage but is so unlikely that people tend to ignore or underestimate it.” The Times reported Wednesday that Mr. Carney, after being pressed on whether he took Mr. Trump’s threats to make Canada a 51st state seriously, “suggested that he had carefully examined the possibility of a U.S.-led military invasion,” but declined to discuss in detail what that involved. The Globe reported in January that the Canadian Armed Forces have modelled a hypothetical U.S. military invasion of Canada and the country’s potential response, which includes tactics similar to those employed against Russia and later U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. It attributed this to senior government sources. This is believed to be the first time in a century that the Forces had created a model of an American assault on this country, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a partner with the U.S. in continental air defence. A military model is a conceptual and theoretical framework, not a military plan, which is an actionable and step-by-step directive for executing operations. The Times noted Mr. Carney was a former central banker “who approaches the world by meticulously assessing worst-case scenarios and drafting responses.” The Prime Minister explained in the interview that what he did was perform risk management. “That’s not a base case,” he said of the possibility of U.S. military action against Canada. “But it would be irresponsible not to” prepare. Audrey Champoux, deputy director of communications in the Prime Minister’s…