Mark Carney delivered a blunt assessment of the global order at the World Economic Forum in Davos, declaring that the era of a U.S.-led international system has effectively ended.
Speaking before global political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, Carney said the foundations of the rules-based international order no longer hold, arguing that the world is experiencing a structural rupture rather than a temporary transition.
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. The old order is not coming back,” Carney said, warning against nostalgia for past global arrangements.
Without naming the United States or Donald Trump directly, Carney criticized what he described as American hegemony, saying powerful nations have increasingly exempted themselves from rules they once promoted. He argued that trade systems, financial infrastructure, and supply chains are now being used as tools of coercion rather than cooperation.
Carney pointed to recent crises in finance, energy, health, and geopolitics as evidence that deep global interdependence has become a vulnerability. Tariffs, sanctions, and control over supply chains, he said, are increasingly deployed as strategic weapons.
For Canada, Carney said the implications are serious. He warned that long-standing assumptions—that geography and alliances alone guarantee security and prosperity—are no longer reliable. He called for a “principled and pragmatic” approach focused on strengthening domestic capacity while diversifying trade relationships.
Carney also acknowledged the weakening of major multilateral institutions, including the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, arguing that countries must now prepare to operate in a less predictable and less rules-driven environment.
“A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself, or defend itself has few options,” he said, while cautioning that a world of isolated “fortresses” would ultimately be poorer and more fragile.
He concluded by urging middle powers to form flexible coalitions rather than rely on outdated power structures. “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” Carney said.
