OTTAWA – In a polished Beijing banquet hall on January 16, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney opened what is perhaps the most important and least analyzed speech of his young premiership by turning first to Olivier Desmarais and the Canada China Business Council.
“We are honored and grateful,” Carney said. After first turning to Desmarais, grandson of former prime minister Jean Chrétien and a scion of the Power Corporation milieu of Montreal, Carney thanked “the team at the Canada China Business Council for your leadership in bringing together, look at this room, this remarkable room, together.”
