HAMILTON, Canada

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday took a swipe at the Canadian prime minister when he said Canada should be "grateful" to the US, following Mark Carney’s widely praised speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

"We're building a golden dome that's going to, just by its very nature, be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they're not," he said in Davos, Switzerland.

Referring to Carney, Trump added, "I watched the prime minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful."

"They should be grateful to the US. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that Mark the next time you make your statements," he said.

It came after Carney's speech drew global attention and a standing ovation after he warned that the post-war rules-based international order is fading and said middle powers like Canada must adapt to a world of growing rivalry and coercion.

Saying that "the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it," said Carney. "Nostalgia is not a strategy."

"Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption, that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security -- that assumption is no longer valid," he said.

Relations between Canada and the US have been strained after Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and later halted talks because of an anti-tariff advertisement aired in the US.