Mark Carney says middle powers should stop pretending and act together.

At Davos, Mark Carney said the rules-based international order has ruptured and urged middle powers, including Canada, to build domestic strength and cooperate through new partnerships.

Mark Carney spoke at Davos about a shift in global politics and why it matters now. He described the decline of the familiar rules-based order and said great-power rivalry is increasingly shaping international relations. Carney argued that middle powers are not powerless and that honesty about the new reality should guide policy. He presented Canada's strategy as an example of domestic strengthening and wider cooperation. Key points: - Carney described a ‘‘rupture’’ in the rules-based international order and said economic integration can now be used as a form of coercion. - He urged middle powers to ‘‘name reality’’ and to apply consistent standards to allies and rivals rather than maintaining performative compliance. - He outlined Canada's response as building domestic economic resilience, increasing defence capacity, and diversifying international partnerships and trade ties. - Carney recommended forming issue-based coalitions among like-minded countries to share the costs of resilience and reduce strategic vulnerability. Summary: Carney presented a diagnosis that familiar international arrangements are under strain and a prescription that middle powers should strengthen themselves and coordinate their responses. He described concrete steps Canada is taking, including domestic investment and broader strategic partnerships. The speech calls for candid assessment of the current environment and cooperative action among middle powers.