Carney calls on middle powers to band together in World Economic Forum speech

By Canadian Press on January 20, 2026.

DAVOS — Speaking before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland today, Prime Minister Mark Carney says the world has entered a risky new age of great power rivalries.

As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to call this week for the annexation of Greenland, Carney is warning the assembled leaders against the hope that compliance might buy safety.

The prime minister says countries like Canada prospered under a predictable, rules-based international order.

Carney calls that system a useful fiction long propped up by U.S. hegemony.

Carney says the last year has shown that the world is moving toward a system of economic coercion, with great powers pursuing their own interests above all else.

Carney says middle powers like Canada must adapt to this new reality, which is why Canada is looking to expand non-U.S. trading relationships through deals such as those signed recently with China and Qatar.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 20, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

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