OTTAWA — They weren’t quite fighting words, but the recent speech by Canada’s foreign minister in Parliament revealed the growing chasm between the country and its powerful neighbor.

The minister, Chrystia Freeland, told the House of Commons last week that as the United States, under its new administration, “has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership,” Canada, like other countries, must “set our own clear and sovereign course.”

The speech was a signal that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intends to take on a bigger role in international affairs. Canada had already been stepping up its efforts on global warming, even before President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate accord. And it has taken a more active role on trade.

But with her language, Ms. Freeland outlined an even stronger role for the country, in a marked shift in tone for the Trudeau government.