At Davos, Mark Carney warns against the Trump era “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu”

By: Marie Bernard

Editor/Editor-in-Chief: Grace Samuel

The views expressed are the author's own and do not reflect the views of the International Relations Society.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, in a barely veiled criticism of Donald Trump, the Canadian Prime Minister called on states to unite against hegemonic powers. Experts and North American media see it as a risky change of tone from Ottawa at a time when the global order appears more fragmented than ever.

“Never has a Canadian prime minister gone this far,” marvels La Presse in its coverage of Carney’s address at the World Economic Forum on 20 January. Mark Carney used the stage in Davos to declare before the world’s economic and political elite “the end of the rules-based international system”, denounce major powers that turn economic integration into “a tool of pressure” and insist: “Middle powers must act together, because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”

In the room, several European and Asian delegations privately welcomed what they described as a “clear-eyed” intervention, according to The Economist, but diplomats also acknowledge that Ottawa is exposing itself to political and trade retaliation. Canada remains deeply dependent on the American market, which absorbs nearly 75% of its exports. 

Beyond the immediate diplomatic fallout, Carney’s speech also reflects a deeper strategic anxiety within Canada’s political and economic elite. For decades, Ottawa has built its prosperity on the assumption of a stable, predictable partnership with Washington. That assumption is now openly questioned. With Trump signalling a return to transactional diplomacy, tariffs as leverage and alliances treated as optional, Canadian policymakers are forced to rethink their long-standing dependence on the United States.

Several analysts at Davos noted that Carney’s message was aimed as much at domestic audiences as at foreign capitals. As reported by the CBC, by framing the moment as a “rupture”, he prepares Canadians for a period of adjustment in which diversification of trade, defence cooperation and technological partnerships becomes a necessity rather than a slogan. Europe, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa are increasingly seen as alternative markets and political partners capable of reducing Ottawa’s vulnerability to American pressure.

At the same time, the Prime Minister is walking a delicate line. Openly challenging Trump risks provoking retaliation, yet silence could leave Canada strategically exposed. “Carney is betting that collective action among middle powers can compensate for a weakening US commitment. The question is whether others are ready to follow.”

In Davos, his words resonated. Whether they translate into lasting coalitions, however, will determine if the warning against the Trump era becomes a turning point or merely a symbolic stand.

“Has Carney just announced a major shift in Canada’s foreign policy orientation?” asks the CBC. Former Canadian ambassador to the United States Derek Burney told the broadcaster that the Prime Minister “laid out a fairly clear strategy for what could be done to avoid becoming completely subject to the whims of a superpower”. In his view, Carney is seeking to reposition Canada as a pivot player between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

By declaring that the world “is at the heart of a rupture rather than a transition”, Mark Carney “offers a vision of the future”, continues The Brandon Sun. His speech was widely perceived in Davos as a “cry from the heart in a turbulent period of global politics”, notes the Toronto Star. The paper also underlines that Carney is breaking with Canada’s tradition of diplomatic caution in favour of a more assertive, almost Gaullist, posture.

For The Globe and Mail, he “warns the world that the wolves are at our door. And essentially, the wolf he is warning about is Donald Trump.” The National Post judges that “Carney risks drawing Washington’s fire” at a time when North American trade negotiations remain fragile.

“A mistake”

The tone is just as sombre in the American press. The New York Times observes that Mark Carney is “seeking new allies to help his country survive” the end of the Pax Americana. Watching Ottawa’s renewed outreach to Beijing, The Washington Post judges that “Canada will regret moving closer to China in order to provoke Trump”, recalling past tensions over Huawei and tariffs.

Interviewed by La Presse, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, John Bolton, says the Canadian leader made a “mistake” by declaring the end of the rules-based international system and believes that “Canada–US relations could pay the price”.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in Davos, Donald Trump said Mark Carney was ungrateful: “Canada lives thanks to the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make statements.” President Trump has also continued his provocative hints about making Canada the 51st American state. On Tuesday, he posted on his social network Truth Social a series of AI-generated images showing him in the Oval Office with European leaders in front of a map on which the American flag covers not only the United States but also Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.

'Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself showing a map of the U.S. incorporating Canada and Greenland to European leaders @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social' - The Independent

In Ottawa, some MPs now fear that the rhetoric heard in Davos could translate into a lasting cooling of bilateral relations, while others believe, on the contrary, that Carney merely said out loud what many capitals are thinking quietly: the era of automatic American protection is coming to an end.