Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told political and business leaders in Davos that the US-led international system built after the second world war is breaking down and will not return. Speaking at the World Economic Forum a day before US President Donald Trump was due to address the gathering, Carney said the world is experiencing a fundamental rupture marked by growing rivalry between major powers and the steady erosion of the rules-based order.

Since entering Canadian politics in 2025, Carney has consistently warned that global politics would not revert to a pre-Trump status quo. In Davos, he reinforced that message without naming Trump directly, arguing that the shift under way is structural rather than temporary. “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” he said, adding that nostalgia for the old system offers no solutions.

From Rules-Based Order to Power Politics

Carney acknowledged that countries like Canada had benefited for decades from the previous international framework, including from American dominance that helped sustain open sea lanes, financial stability, collective security and mechanisms for resolving disputes. That reality, he said, has now given way to a harsher environment.

According to Carney, the global system is increasingly defined by intense competition among great powers that use economic integration as a tool of pressure. Tariffs, financial infrastructure and supply chains are no longer neutral instruments but means of coercion. In this context, he warned that smaller and mid-sized countries can no longer assume that obedience or accommodation will guarantee their security. “Compliance will not buy safety,” he said bluntly.

For middle powers such as Canada, the question is not whether adaptation is necessary, but how it should be done. Carney rejected isolation and protectionism as insufficient responses, arguing instead for more ambitious cooperation among like-minded states. If middle powers are excluded from decision-making, he warned, they risk becoming objects rather than participants in global politics.

Middle Powers and Collective Action

Carney stressed that great powers can afford to act alone, relying on their economic scale, military strength and leverage to impose terms. Middle powers cannot. His message was that cooperation among such countries is no longer optional. Acting individually, they negotiate from weakness, accept unfavorable terms and compete with each other for approval. In his view, that dynamic amounts to a performance of sovereignty rather than its substance.

He outlined a strategy he described as “variable geometry”, based on forming flexible coalitions depending on the issue, shared interests and common values. This approach, he said, would allow countries like Canada to remain principled while navigating an unstable and unpredictable global landscape.

Trump, Greenland and a Transatlantic Crisis

Carney’s speech came as Trump was preparing to arrive in Davos amid a deepening confrontation with European allies over Greenland. Trump has repeatedly insisted that the autonomous Danish territory is strategically vital for US and Nato security, citing its mineral resources and the growing importance of the Arctic as ice melts and competition with Russia and China intensifies.

Before heading to Switzerland, Trump mocked European leaders and hinted at escalation when asked how far he would go to acquire Greenland, replying: “You’ll find out.” He has threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent on several European countries backing Denmark, prompting warnings of retaliation from the EU.

European leaders at Davos responded by closing ranks. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to stand up to what he called bullying behavior, saying the moment did not call for new imperialism or colonial ambitions. He criticized what he described as unnecessary aggression tied to Trump’s tariff threats.

Trump’s address in Davos was scheduled for mid-afternoon, but he said he would also hold meetings on Greenland during the forum. The dispute has opened one of the most serious rifts between Washington and Europe in decades.

Canada, Security and Escalating Tensions

The Greenland issue has also sharpened anxieties in Canada. Carney spoke in Davos shortly after media reports revealed that the Canadian military had examined scenarios involving a potential US invasion of Canada. According to unnamed senior officials cited in the report, the model response focused on insurgency-style tactics similar to those used in Afghanistan against Soviet and later US forces.

Following Trump’s election in 2024 and during the early months of his new term, he repeatedly referred to Canada as a potential 51st US state, claiming a merger would benefit Canadians. Although such rhetoric has softened in recent months, Trump recently shared an image online showing Canada and Venezuela covered by the US flag, implying full American control.

Against this backdrop, Carney stated unequivocally that Canada stands with Greenland and Denmark and fully supports their right to decide their own future.

A Blunt Doctrine for a Fragmented World

In a separate analysis of Carney’s Davos appearance, observers noted a sharp shift in tone from his earlier career as a central banker and global economic figure. Once a champion of multilateral cooperation and shared rules, Carney now offers a more austere assessment of global politics, quoting the idea that the strong act as they wish while the weak suffer the consequences.

In his speech, which he wrote himself, Carney argued that the old order should not be mourned and that longing for it is not a strategy. The remarks received a standing ovation and were widely seen as a clear-eyed acknowledgment that the international architecture built over decades is under severe strain.

Academic observers said Carney was unusual among western leaders in openly rejecting the idea that Trump can be managed, appeased or accommodated. Instead, he recognized that the systems once upheld by the United States are deteriorating and that allies must adjust accordingly.

Between Realism and Collective Resolve

Carney warned that retreating behind economic and political fortresses would leave countries poorer and less resilient. At the same time, he rejected blind faith in institutions that are increasingly ignored by powerful states. Former Canadian UN ambassador Bob Rae said the failure lies not with the institutions themselves but with superpowers that have chosen to disregard the rules.

Despite the bleak diagnosis, Carney struck a cautiously optimistic note. He argued that legitimacy, integrity and shared rules still carry power if countries choose to defend them collectively. Canada, he said, will not bend to those seeking to dismantle the global system and will continue working with partners willing to uphold it.

As Trump prepared to meet various parties in Davos to press his case on Greenland, Carney closed with a warning to smaller states tempted to cut deals from a position of weakness. Accepting subordination in exchange for short-term stability, he argued, is not true sovereignty. Real influence, he concluded, comes only through cooperation in a world where power politics have returned to the forefront.