Carney at Davos: ‘Rupture’ in world order, and Canada’s plan to find new allies
At Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney warned the era of U.S. hegemony is ending, earned a standing ovation, and outlined a push to diversify Canada’s economic and security partnerships.
Copy link
By Torontoer Staff
Prime Minister Mark Carney drew a standing ovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos after describing the end of Pax Americana as a “rupture,” and urging medium-size countries to act together to protect their interests. His speech crystallised a government strategy to reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States and to build new economic and security ties.
Carney followed a week of diplomacy in China and Qatar, where he secured limited trade concessions and a “strategic partnership” with Beijing. He framed those moves as part of a broader campaign to safeguard Canada’s economic future amid rising great-power rivalry.
What Carney said in Davos
Speaking to political and corporate leaders, Carney warned that the rules-based international order is weakening and that middle powers risk being sidelined if they do not cooperate. He declined to name the U.S. president, but his comments were delivered against a backdrop of recent American threats over Greenland and tariffs on allied countries.
Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great-power rivalry, that the rules-based order is fading, that the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.
Mark Carney
The middle powers must act together because if we are not at the table, we are on the menu.
Mark Carney
Why Ottawa is pivoting
Canada’s economic and security ties to the United States run deep. Roughly 75 percent of Canadian exports go to the U.S., the two countries share the world’s longest land border, and allied militaries coordinate daily. Those links leave Canada vulnerable to shifting U.S. policy and tariff actions that have already hit sectors such as autos, steel, aluminium and lumber.
Against that reality, Carney’s Davos address and recent travel signal a deliberate move to diversify partners and markets. Ottawa is seeking alternatives that can reduce economic exposure and provide political options should U.S. policy become more unilateral.
What Carney has delivered abroad
Carney’s week on the road included meetings in China and Qatar. The most concrete result was an agreement to allow a limited number of Chinese-made electric vehicles into Canada at a reduced tariff, in exchange for Beijing lowering some duties on Canadian agricultural products. Ottawa and Beijing also announced a “strategic partnership.”
- Limited EV tariff relief from China, plus some lower Chinese agricultural tariffs for Canada
- A declared strategic partnership with China indicating deeper cooperation
- Continued diplomatic engagement aimed at securing alternative markets and investment
Carney has travelled extensively since becoming prime minister, logging nearly 60 days abroad in the past year. The push is intended to build trade corridors and political relationships that can complement Canada’s ties to the United States.
Domestic political risks
The government’s international focus has drawn criticism at home. The opposition Conservative Party argues the prime minister is spending too much time overseas and not enough on immediate domestic issues such as cost of living and housing. Carney governs with a minority in Parliament and remains one seat short of a majority, a constraint that could limit his ability to pursue an ambitious international agenda.
There are a lot of voters who wanted to see this from Mark Carney, and expected it from him. But there is also a huge percentage of the electorate, up to 40 percent, that lives in a different world, that does not have the luxury to worry about what Mark Carney said at Davos.
Ginny Roth, former Conservative adviser
Senior advisers acknowledge the risk that no single partner or deal will quickly replace the economic and security role of the United States. They also warn that diplomatic gains may fall short of public expectations.
What this means for Canadians
A concerted drive to diversify trade and deepen ties with non-U.S. partners could create new market opportunities for exporters and investors, and reduce exposure to unilateral tariff measures. For ordinary Canadians, the benefits may be gradual, and near-term uncertainty could persist in industries closely tied to U.S. demand.
Carney’s strategy also signals a broader foreign policy shift. Ottawa is signalling that it will pursue pragmatic engagement with a range of powers to protect national interests, even as it continues to work with longstanding allies.
Canada’s path will depend on whether new partnerships can deliver significant trade and security gains, and on how domestic politics shapes the government’s ability to follow through.
For now, Carney’s Davos speech served as a clear public statement of intent: Ottawa will look beyond automatic reliance on a single partner and attempt to build a network of relationships to weather a changing global order.
Mark CarneyDavosCanadaforeign policytrade
