Mansoor’s Musings: Mark Carney hits the mark at Davos

By Mansoor Ladha on January 29, 2026.

Prime Minister Mark Carney stole the show at the Davos Economic Forum attended by world leaders, dazzling them with a dynamic presentation. Everyone except Donald Trump was impressed with his speech in which he outlined the issues facing middle powers like Canada, defined overbearing tactics of superpowers and offered appropriate solutions.

Throwing a challenge to his powerful VIP audience, Carney said, “Our view is the middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

His advice was “building what we claim to believe in, rather than waiting for the old order to be restored. It means creating institutions and agreements that function as described, and it means reducing the leverage that enables coercion. That’s building a strong domestic economy. It should be every government’s immediate priority.”

Carney’s speech, which has been hailed as the most consequential by a western leader, received a standing ovation. President Donald Trump followed Carney with his boring demonstration, punctuated as usual by insults and meaningless rhetoric.

As one letter writer put it succinctly, and I quote, “Carney’s speech and language was at university level, Trump’s speech was at Grade 6 level. Carney’s speech revealed some profound but hard truths; Trump’s speech was filled with half-truths and falsehoods. Carney’s speech provided a path to the future; Trump’s speech was reinvention of the past. God help America.”

Canada is fortunate in having Prime Minister Carney at the helm at such a difficult and tumultuous time in international relations. Since assuming office, Carney has signed 12 new trade agreements within six continents, travelled overseas to boost trade relations, building contacts with other countries to diversify Canada’s economy away from the U.S.

Other countries should heed Carney’s advice since, he warned, “We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.

This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from genuine co-operation. The powerful have their power. But we have something too: the capacity to stop pretending, to name realities, to build our strength at home and to act together.”

The first test that Carney’s recipe for middle powers was working is clearly shown when Europe banded together, with Canadian backing, to threaten economic retaliation when Trump threatened tariffs and suggested Greenland’s annexation. Trump has changed his tune from military action to no forceful army takeover and now he is talking about negotiating with Denmark and Greenland officials.

Carney bravely opposed Trump’s designs to takeover Greenland, expressing unwavering commitment to NATO’s article 5 and strengthening Canada’s security and boosting its military might. As expected, the speech wasn’t well received by Trump, who said Carney, “wasn’t so grateful” and that “Canada lives because of the U.S.” In retaliation, he announced his intention to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the United States, adding “Remember that, Mark, the next time make your statements.”

He also went ahead and rescinded Carney’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, a Trump dominated board where members must pay $1 billion to join. Thanks, President Trump for withdrawing the invitation and saving our hard earned $1 billion which can now be used for other worthwhile Canadian projects! Trump’s performance in “peace” initiatives between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas – to name only two – have been questionable and it is doubtful if the Board of Peace will succeed in bringing any fruitful changes.

Trump’s newest gimmick has been to issue a new map on the social media depicting Greenland, Venezuela and Canada as part of U.S. He has also addressed Carney as “Governor Carney” – the same salutation he bestowed on Justin Trudeau. As someone known to frequently use undiplomatic, insulting language and revengeful behaviour, we won’t stoop to his level. Suffice it to say that he has been making mockery of himself internationally and domestically while holding the most powerful position in the world.

Trump and his cabinet have failed to accept that we are now in the 21st century and that days of colonialism have gone when powerful nations used to partition subdued countries as if it was a piece of cake as during the Scramble for Africa in the 19th century.

This century, one requires approval from most of the residents for such an operation. There is no way, sovereign Greenland or Canada would accept U.S. tutelage, especially now that we have witnessed how U.S. citizens are treated in Minnesota and other U.S. states.

An alarming development in Canada is the emergence of some misguided Albertans who are seeking independence and possibly joining the U.S. These separatists do not realize what they are advocating, nor do they know what is involved in breaking up our beloved country. The separatists, who are providing ammunition to the Trump administration, are being unpatriotic and disloyal to their home and native land.

Carney’s speech not only challenged the behaviour of America under Trump but suggested a bold path forward for middle powers to approach the great powers from a place of strength.  It expressed a matter of principle and pride based on deeply held belief and rule of conduct rather than on practical, financial or selfish gains for Canada.

Carney acted because it aligns with Canada’s core value of honesty, fairness, and justice unlike Trump who thrives on division and plays one potential opponent against the other. More anti-Canada repercussions should not be too far away with CUSMA renewal being the next victim. But, as they say, we shall overcome.

“That is Canada’s path,” Carney summed up. “We choose it openly and confidently,” throwing an invitation to others to follow “a path wide open to any country willing to take it with us.” I sincerely hope other nations – Middle Powers — take up Carney’s cry for unity to forge alliances and partnership against the “common enemy.”

Mansoor Ladha is a Calgary-based journalist, travel writer and author of Canadian Experience; Aga Khan: Bridge between East & West; Memoirs of a Muhindi: Fleeing East Africa for the West; Off the Cuff and A Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was publisher of Morinville Mirror and Redwater Tribune.

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