Davos 2026 : Canada’s Prime Minister Says There Has Been ‘Rupture’ In The World Order
New Delhi : Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered one of the starkest assessments yet of the international system, declaring that the era of American-led global order has effectively come to an end. Carney said the old assumptions underpinning the rules-based international order no longer hold. Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said. The old order is not coming back.
Carney pointed squarely at what he called “American hegemony”, arguing that great powers are now weaponising the very economic integration that once promised shared prosperity. “We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false,” Carney said. “That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically.
Carney said recent crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have exposed the dangers of deep global interdependence, especially as major powers increasingly deploy tariffs, financial systems and supply chains as tools of pressure. “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons,” he said.
For Canada, Carney said, the implications are sobering. Long-held beliefs that geography and alliances alone would guarantee prosperity and security are no longer valid. “You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination,” he warned. The prime minister said Canada must now pursue a “principled and pragmatic” strategy — strengthening domestic capacity while diversifying trade ties to reduce reliance on any single partner.
A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options, Carney said. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself. While warning that a “world of fortresses” would make nations poorer and more fragile, Carney argued that middle powers must build flexible coalitions with like-minded partners. “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” he said.
Closing his speech, Carney rejected nostalgia for the past. “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it,” he said. “From the fracture, we can build something better, stronger and more just. This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and most to gain from genuine cooperation,” Carney said.