Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a stark warning to the world’s middle powers during a widely applauded address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying countries like Canada must act together or risk being sidelined in an era of intensifying great-power rivalry.
In a speech that received a standing ovation, Carney said the U.S.-led rules-based international order is undergoing a fundamental rupture, not a temporary transition. While he did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name, the prime minister’s remarks were widely interpreted as a response to Washington’s growing use of tariffs, economic pressure and unilateral action.
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it,” Carney said. “Nostalgia is not a strategy.”
Carney argued that while Canada benefited for decades from American-led global stability, that system is fading as major powers increasingly use economic integration as a tool of coercion. He warned that smaller and mid-sized nations can no longer assume compliance will guarantee security.
“Middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he said, adding that unlike great powers, middle powers lack the market size and military leverage to go it alone.
Carney also expressed firm support for Greenland and Denmark, after Trump reiterated his desire for the United States to take control of the Arctic territory. Canada, Carney said, “stands firmly” behind Greenland’s right to determine its own future.
The speech drew significant global attention and was seen as a defining moment in Carney’s short political career. Since entering politics last year, the former central banker has repeatedly cautioned that the world will not return to a pre-Trump status quo.
Carney’s remarks come amid renewed tensions following Trump’s recent social media post showing Canada and other countries overlaid with the U.S. flag, reviving concerns about American expansionist rhetoric and its impact on global stability.