Carney Warns Of Global Rupture As Old Order Fades

In a moment that electrified the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech on January 20, 2026, that many are already calling historic. Standing before a packed hall of global leaders and business titans, Carney declared, “The old order is not coming back,” warning that the world is at a rupture point as the era of American hegemony fades and a new, more volatile phase emerges. The speech drew a rare standing ovation, underscoring the gravity—and resonance—of his message.

Carney’s remarks, though he never mentioned U.S. President Donald Trump by name, were unmistakably aimed at the United States’ increasingly unilateral and coercive approach to international relations. According to BBC, Carney cautioned, “Middle powers must act together because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.” He pointed out that great powers—implicitly referencing the U.S., China, and Russia—are now weaponizing economic integration: “Tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”

For decades, Carney argued, countries like Canada participated in the “rituals” of a so-called rules-based international order, signaling their support in exchange for access to trade, finance, and crucial goods. But, as Carney told the World Economic Forum, “This bargain no longer works. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.” He described the international order as a “fiction” that states have perpetuated for access and security—a fiction now unraveling as powerful countries pursue their own interests, often at the expense of smaller states.

Carney’s speech comes against a dramatic geopolitical backdrop. President Trump, having returned to office, has doubled down on his combative, America-first rhetoric. In recent weeks, Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs on European allies and the United Kingdom unless Greenland—a semi-autonomous Danish territory—was surrendered to U.S. control. According to The New York Times, Trump even posted an altered map on social media, draping the American flag over the U.S., Canada, and Greenland, signaling ambitions that alarmed both allies and adversaries.

Canada, as one of America’s closest neighbors and trading partners, has been front and center in these disputes. Trump has referred to Canada as the “51st state” and imposed crippling tariffs on key Canadian sectors, including autos, steel, aluminum, and lumber. These moves have prompted Canada to rethink its longstanding reliance on the U.S. for security and prosperity. “Canada was amongst the first to hear the wake-up call that geography and historic alliances no longer guaranteed security or prosperity,” Carney said, as reported by BBC.

In response, Carney has sought to pivot Canada toward new alliances and partnerships. He highlighted recent trade and investment deals with China and Qatar, and a defense procurement pact with the European Union. Notably, Canada struck a deal with China to allow a limited number of electric vehicles into the Canadian market at reduced tariffs, in exchange for China lowering tariffs on Canadian agricultural goods—a move that breaks with longstanding U.S. policy. The two nations even declared a “strategic partnership,” signaling a new era of cooperation with a major U.S. rival.

Carney also reaffirmed Canada’s support for Greenland and Denmark, emphasizing Canada’s unwavering commitment to NATO’s Article Five, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. This stance drew applause in Davos and was reinforced by Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who noted Canada’s regular participation in NATO exercises, including those in Greenland. While Canada did not send troops to the most recent military exercise in Greenland, its support for Danish sovereignty was clear.

The prime minister’s speech echoed recent warnings from other world leaders. Just weeks earlier, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had accused the U.S. of turning the world “into a den of robbers, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want.” French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on January 20, 2026, also criticized Trump’s tariff threats as an unacceptable “endless accumulation of new tariffs” used as “leverage against territorial sovereignty.”

Carney’s call for a “third path” was a central theme. He urged countries, especially so-called middle powers like Canada, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, and Brazil, to form coalitions based on shared values and interests rather than simply accommodating the whims of the most powerful. “There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along,” Carney told the audience. “To accommodate. To avoid trouble. To hope that compliance will buy safety. It won’t.”

He argued that countries must move beyond merely invoking the “rules-based international order” and instead work to enforce principles like those enshrined in the United Nations Charter. “We should not allow the rise of hard power to blind us to the fact that the power of legitimacy, integrity, and rules will remain strong if we choose to wield it together,” Carney said, as quoted by Truthout. “Stop invoking the ‘rules-based international order’ as though it still functions as advertised. Call the system what it is: a period where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as a weapon of coercion.”

Carney’s speech also acknowledged the risks of this new approach. Despite his energetic global outreach—he’s spent nearly 60 days abroad since taking office last March, compared to 40 for his British and French counterparts—Carney faces domestic criticism. The opposition Conservative Party has accused him of neglecting pressing issues at home, such as the cost of living and housing, in favor of globe-trotting diplomacy. With his party one seat short of a parliamentary majority, Carney’s ability to deliver on his promises is far from guaranteed.

Meanwhile, the international environment grows ever more unstable. Amnesty International USA released a report on January 20, 2026, warning that Trump’s first year back in office has precipitated a “human rights emergency” in the United States, “cracking the pillars of a free society.” The report highlights threats to freedoms of the press, expression, peaceful protest, fair trial, due process, equality, and privacy. “When these rights are weakened, the harms do not stay contained—they spread,” the report cautioned, raising alarms about the global implications of America’s internal trajectory.

Carney’s speech, delivered in his own words rather than those of his staff, was as much a warning as it was a rallying cry. “Every day we’re reminded that we live in an era of great-power rivalry,” he said. “That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.” The world, it seems, is entering a period of profound uncertainty, and Carney’s message was clear: middle powers must act, or risk being acted upon.

In a world where old certainties are falling away, Carney’s call for coalition, cooperation, and courage may prove to be the defining challenge of this era.