Canada silent on Trump's Harvard fight as PM Carney's daughter just finished 1st year

Belgium's future queen Princess Elisabeth is not the only VIP foreign student caught in Donald Trump's legal battle with Harvard. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's daughter Cleo Carney is a first-year student at Harvard. While speculations are rife about whether these VIP international students will have to take admission elsewhere if the Trump administration wins the legal battle, Canada has another issue to worry about. Canada is one of the highest contributors to Harvard's international students after China. And for undergraduate studies, the highest number of international students comes from Canada.

Canada has not issued any statement after the Trump administrated barred the university from enrolling foreign students for non-compliance. The administration sought extensive records on nonimmigrant students involved in any crime, violence or illegal activities in the last five years. Harvard did not comply even after the ultimatum and went to the court to get a temporary stay on the order. If Trump wins the legal battle, the existing students will have to transfer to other universities.

China, which sends the highest number of students to Harvard, said the ban will tarnish the US's image. “China has consistently opposed the politicization of educational collaboration,” a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, adding that the US move “will only tarnish its own image and reputation in the world.”

Who is Cleo Carney?

The eldest daughter of Carney and economist Diana Fox Carnet, Cleao Carney, is studying social studies with a minor in energy and the environment. Cleo gained public attention in March 2025 when she introduced her father at the Liberal Party leadership event in Ottawa, where he was announced as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. Ahead of the election, she advocated for her father as a first-time voter. "My dad may not be the loudest candidate, but he will always be a principled one. He listens when he could perform. He believes in honesty, not spectacle. That’s what quiet leadership is: work without the ego. And that’s what my dad brings to the table. He’s not running for the spotlight. He’s running so this country can work for all of us," she wrote.

What Belgian royal family say about Harvard row

23-year-old Princess Elisabeth has just finished her first year at Harvard, where she is doing a two-year master's degree in public policy. “The impact of [the Trump administration’s] decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks,” Belgian royal palace spokesperson Lore Vandoorne told Reuters. “We are currently investigating the situation.”

The palace’s communications director, Xavier Baert, added, “We are analyzing this at the moment and will let things settle. A lot can still happen in the coming days and weeks.”