Field Notes on Carney’s Speech on Middle Powers
What made it one of the greatest speeches in recent history?
If you follow politics closely, it’s hard not to notice the speech Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 20, 2026.
Canada has the most to lose by giving such an unapologetically honest speech, but still, Carney called out the rupture in the new world order, where great powers in geopolitics have no constraints and use economic integration as weapons. The pleasant fiction of a rule-based world we all pretended we’re living in is fading; and that we are in the age of great-power rivalry, where “the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.”
His speech was a powerful wake-up call to all the middle powers, reminding how they must work together to leverage the power of the powerless against the bullies because “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
I was in awe of his eloquence and the bluntness of the script. The leadership shown is long overdue on the world stage—one must admit their part in creating that orderly-world fiction, one that divorces the failing institution and proposes a “third path with impact.” The sentence I managed to utter after watching the recording was: who wrote the script? It didn’t surprise me when I later found out that Carney wrote it himself.
His speech silenced many critics and news outlets—both the political left and right—just dropped articles of the full text of his blunt speech as is. It won the internet too. I was surprised by how few negative comments I was able to find online (comments sections on social media are usually a ‘war zone’). Netizens praise his competence as a world leader. Some even compare Carney’s speech to Winston Churchill’s.
Carney called out a painfully grim reality—the old order is not coming back. But instead of mourning with the crowds in nostalgia, he presented pragmatic solutions to problems everyone has just been either accommodating or wailing about. With well-articulated analogy and Canadian humour, he managed to make this desperately stark situation surprisingly optimistic and hopeful.
His speech coined a few novel concepts for countries in between to work together for genuine co-operation—such as pursuing “variable geometry” through different coalitions for different issues, based on common values and interests; rather than continuing to perform sovereignty while accepting subordination to hegemony that presents itself as the sole provider of public goods, or the enabler of the world’s stability.
In a world of great-power rivalry, Carney’s speech reminded the world about Canada—an energy superpower which holds vast reserves of critical minerals; a country with the most educated population in the world.
The speech made a historic moment, and certainly left a positive mark on Carney’s legacy; but most importantly, it opened a new path to world leaders to act in determination together to build a better, stronger, and more just future.
📹 Recording of Mark Carney’s speech on middle powers.
On January 21, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his special address at the Forum. He certainly did not miss the opportunity to make a power move, reminding us that “Canada lives because of the United States” and that we “should be grateful.” He continued to project the image of a bully by extending his aggression to Greenland, claiming that “no nation, or group of nations, is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s rival, China, is opening its arms to the world as a more “predictable” partner—openly assuring the international community that China is not only ready to be a manufacturing powerhouse for the world, but a consumption powerhouse as well. China is ready to reap the prosperity that Trump has thrown out the window.
Further reading and viewing
🇨🇳 China’s special address by He Lifeng: full transcript and recording (Mandarin Chinese original / English).
🇪🇺 European Commission’s special address by Ursula von der Leyen: full transcript and recording.
🇫🇷 France’s special address by Emmanuel Macron: full transcript and recording.