Ottawa, Canada - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ramped up his rhetoric on President Donald Trump, vowing during a debate to respond to US pressure "with a crushing force."

Since entering office a little over a month ago, Carney has increased his criticism of the Trump administration and its escalating trade war.

"We must react with a crushing force," Carney said during a debate Wednesday. "The relationship we’ve had with the US over the last four decades has fundamentally changed."

While in the midst of an election campaign, the PM on Saturday announced his "Canada Strong" plan, aimed at uniting, securing, and protecting the Canadian economy in the face of economic headwinds.

Canada Canada's Prime Minister declares era of close ties with US is "over"

"It's time to secure our sovereignty and our economy," Carney said of the plan in a post on X. "My plan will support our workers in the face of President Trump’s tariffs."

Carney has launched an intensive campaign against Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the US' 51st state, and has called escalating tensions with the US "the most important crisis of our lives."

"The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over," Carney said in March.

In response to Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, which lasted only about a week before the US was forced to back down, Carney hit the US with heavy levies on US auto imports.

"Canada has to create new options," Carney said during the debate, vowing that a Canadian government under him would be looking for more "reliable" trading partners than the US.