Carney's Davos speech urges middle powers to act together

At Davos, Carney said the rules-based international order is fraying and warned that economic integration is increasingly being used as leverage; he urged middle powers like Canada to strengthen domestic resilience and form issue-based coalitions.

Carney spoke at Davos about what he described as a rupture in the international order. He argued that longstanding assumptions about rules, institutions and predictable economic ties are under strain. Using Václav Havel's greengrocer example, he urged countries and companies to stop performing compliance that masks vulnerabilities. He presented Canada's recent policy shifts as an example of pursuing resilience and working with partners. Key points: - Carney said the rules-based international order is weakening and that some great powers now use economic links—trade, finance and supply chains—as instruments of coercion. - He recommended a posture he described through the idea of "values-based realism": strengthen domestic capacity, diversify partners, and build coalitions that act on specific issues rather than relying solely on old institutions. - He outlined Canadian steps he attributed to this approach, including tax and trade adjustments, large public investments, plans to increase defence spending over the decade, and new strategic partnerships and trade negotiations. Summary: Carney framed current global tensions as a clear shift that changes how middle powers should think about security and influence. He presented collective resilience and targeted coalitions as alternatives to unilateral accommodation. Undetermined at this time.