HAMILTON, Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that the post‑war rules-based international order is fading and warned that middle powers like Canada must adapt to a world of growing rivalry and coercion.

"We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In his speech, which received a standing ovation, Carney said countries can no longer rely on old assumptions about geography or alliances automatically ensuring security and prosperity.

“Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption, that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security—that assumption is no longer valid,” he said.

Noting that "great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited," he stressed that countries "cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination."

He also warned that multilateral institutions, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN, are under pressure.

A world that responds to these pressures by isolating itself, Carney said, "will be poorer, more fragile and less sustainable."

He added that if major powers abandon even the pretense of rules and values in pursuit of their own interests, the gains from transactional relationships will become harder to maintain, noting that "hegemonies cannot continually monetize their relationships" and allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty.

Framing the broader challenge for the global community, Carney asked whether nations will simply "adapt by building higher walls" or pursue a more ambitious approach to cooperation.

He said Canada "was amongst the first to hear the wake-up call, leading us to fundamentally shift our strategic posture."

"A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself," he added.

Saying that Canada is responding by strengthening domestic capacity and expanding global partnerships, he said: "We are no longer just relying on the strength of our values, but also the value of our strength."

Citing tax cuts, the removal of interprovincial trade barriers, fast-tracked investments and plans to double defense spending by the end of the decade, Carney stated that Ottawa has signed a dozen trade and security deals across four continents in six months and is negotiating further agreements with India, Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) member countries and member nations of the South American trade bloc MERCOSUR, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

"The middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu," he said, emphasizing that Canada's energy, critical minerals and educated workforce give it leverage in the global system.

"From the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more," Carney said.