SYDNEY — Prime Minister Mark Carney took his middle-powers speech from the World Economic Forum earlier this year to an audience in Australia on Wednesday, where he also discussed the difficulties of negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Hitting many of the same points he did in his headline-making speech in Davos, Switzerland in January, Carney told the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney that Canada and Australia share the advantages of legitimacy and trust.
“Australia and Canada can’t compel like the great powers, but we can convene, we can set the agenda, shape the rules and organize and build capacity through coalitions that deliver results at speed and global scale,” Carney said in a speech at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.
Carney pointed out that Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea have a combined GDP larger than that of the United States.
“Middle powers have more power than many realize,” he said.
While Carney did not mention Trump in his Davos speech, it was widely understood that the president’s unpredictable and destabilizing trade policies drove much of the sentiment within it.
During a question-and-answer period at the Lowy Institute event, the prime minister was asked about his “game plan” for managing Trump.
Carney laughed before discussing what he called the importance of “respect but not obsequiousness.”
“He’s president for a reason. He’s had success in other areas,” Carney said, calling Trump a “very successful politician” who has been elected twice.
Carney later added that, in private, Trump is more direct than he is in public and is more interested in hearing different viewpoints. The prime minister said that “creates an ability to work through things.”
“But it’s not easy, to be clear,” he added.
“What I find is that he appreciates, particularly in private, being direct and discussing issues and being clear where your position is. That is crucial.”
Carney visited India before arriving in Australia and will head to Japan for the third and final stop of his 10-day trip.
Carney said Canada and Australia are both rich in critical minerals and are working together to build “the largest mineral reserve held by trusted democratic nations.”
Canada and Australia could partner on more defence projects, such as those involving AI and aerospace, he said.
“Right now, when we spend capital on defence, 70 cents of those dollars goes to the United States,” he said.
Ottawa and Canberra signed an agreement last year for Canada to buy an Australian over-the-horizon radar system for use in the Arctic.
The two countries are also working to build links between the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and the European Union, which Carney said would create a new trading bloc of 1.5 billion people.
The CPTPP is a massive Pacific Rim trade bloc that includes Australia. Canada is a member of the CPTPP and has a trade agreement with the EU.
During Wednesday’s question-and-answer session, Carney joked at times and at one point dropped the F-word.
It was as he was telling a story about his time as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. He was responding to a question about whether central bankers or politicians have more fun.
He said he attended a dinner with a group of other central bankers as the Bear Stearns investment bank was collapsing, with an hour and a half to go before the Asian markets opened — only for the chair of the group to spend most of a half-hour describing the wine options.
“Central bankers have a lot more fun, and the (politicians), we’re working all the time. No fun, no rest for us,” he said.
Ahead of Wednesday’s speech, Carney held meetings with business leaders, including Simon Trott of the global mining company Rio Tinto and Jack Cowin, CEO of the fast food company Competitive Foods.
He also met with the heads of investment funds, including Raphael Arndt, CEO of the Future Fund, Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO of Macquarie Group, and Kate Galvin, CEO of Victorian Funds Management Corporation.
On Thursday in Australia — Wednesday evening in Canada — Carney will be in Canberra where he will meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and address the Australian Parliament.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
