Mark Carney warns US-Canada economic relationship is ‘now over.’ And says it will never be the same. How to survive in a ‘drastically different world’

He cautioned that many of Canada’s former strengths — built on its tight ties with the U.S. — have now become vulnerabilities. In particular, President Donald Trump’s tariff policy is jeopardizing Canadian jobs that depend on exports to the U.S.

“The jobs of workers in our industries most affected by U.S. tariffs — autos, steel, lumber — are under threat,” Carney said, adding that uncertainty is causing Canadian businesses to hold back investments.

Simply put, the good old days are gone — and won’t return.

“Our relationship with the United States will never be the same as it was, even though, in the new protectionist world, we have the best trade deal of any country,” he added.

This isn’t the first time Carney has signaled a profound shift. Back in March, he warned that “the old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over,” and that Canada must “fundamentally reimagine” its economy for a “drastically different world (2).”

And Canada isn’t alone in absorbing the shock. The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer market for goods and services and many countries rely heavily on American demand. Broad-based tariffs could therefore have severe economic consequences far beyond North America.

Indeed, Carney has cautioned before that Trump’s sweeping tariffs “will rupture the global economy (3).”

However, this isn’t the first time the world has seen a geopolitical shock. The global economy has weathered upheaval before — recessions, trade wars, financial crises. And while no one can predict the exact landscape ahead, investors can still build out a path — especially by focusing on assets that can hold up when uncertainty runs high.

A time-tested safe haven

Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has repeatedly stressed the importance of holding one particular safe-haven asset: gold.

“People don't have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,” Dalio told CNBC earlier this year. “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.”

More recently, he reiterated the point, noting that “in a time of great stress, what you’ll find is that the gold will do well [when the other] assets don’t (4).”

Long seen as the ultimate safe haven, gold isn’t tied to any single country, currency or economy. It can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors tend to pile in — driving up its value.

Over the past 12 months, gold prices have surged just over 60%.

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an option for those looking to help shield their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.

When you make a qualifying purchase with Priority Gold, you can receive up to $10,000 in precious metals for free.

The asset that made Trump rich

If gold is the go-to hedge for moments of chaos, real estate is the long game — and no one knows that better than Trump himself.

Before politics, Trump made his fortune in real estate — and the asset class remains a powerful tool for building and preserving wealth, especially during inflationary times. That’s because property values and rental income tend to rise along with the cost of living.

Unlike some other investments, real estate doesn’t need a roaring stock market to deliver returns. Even during downturns, high-quality properties can generate rental income — offering a dependable stream of passive cash flow.

As Trump told Steve Forbes back in 2011, “I just notice that when you have that right piece of property, whatever it might be, including location, it tends to work well in good times and in bad times (5).”

Today, you don’t need to buy a property outright to benefit from real estate investing. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.