NYT (“Canada Flexes on Global Stage With an Eye to Its Own Survival“):
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada delivered a stark speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, prompting global political and corporate leaders in the audience to rise from their seats for a rare standing ovation.
He described the end of the era underpinned by United States hegemony, calling the current phase “a rupture.” He never mentioned President Trump by name, but his reference was clear.
The speech came as President Trump doubled down on his threats to take Greenland away from Denmark, saying he would slap fresh tariffs on European powers as punishment for their support of Greenland’s sovereignty.
Global leaders have been scrambling to find a unified response.
“Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry,” Mr. Carney said. “That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.”
And he warned, “The middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
He would know.
Mr. Trump started his second presidential term making claims on Canada as the 51st state and threatening Canada’s previous leader, Justin Trudeau, whom Mr. Trump publicly derided, with unilaterally scrapping agreements that have governed the relationship between the neighboring countries for over a century.
He has imposed tariffs on Canada, which is one of America’s two top trading partners along with Mexico, that are crippling some of Canada’s key economic sectors, such as autos, steel, aluminum and lumber.
Mr. Trump’s allies, particularly Steve Bannon, have talked about the benefits of the United States annexing Canada to access its vast Arctic and natural resources, including critical minerals and rare earths.
Mr. Carney chastised other leaders too, many of whom would have been following his speech in Davos, for not standing up for their interests.
“There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along,” he said. “To accommodate. To avoid trouble. To hope that compliance will buy safety. It won’t.”
Mr. Carney made clear he is choosing a different path.
He wrote his own speech, according to a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the inner workings of his team, which is a departure since speeches of this magnitude are usually prepared by high-level staffers with the leader’s input.
Let’s stipulate that Carney’s and Canada’s options are limited. While he’s made overtures to China, that relationship would hardly be without its own risks.
Still, what a position to be in. Canada is our closest ally geographically and culturally. Canadian forces have fought side-by-side with Americans in both world wars and in Afghanistan. It’s a founding member of NATO. We have intertwined our national air defenses through NORAD for decades. It buys more American exports than any other country, accounting for almost as much as the entire European Union. It exports more to the United States than to any other country other than China and Mexico.
Yet threats to abandon NATO, use of bullying tactics to coerce it to adopt Trump administration policy goals, and even threats to use military force to take over land owned by another NATO ally have Carney legitimately frightened of what comes next. Sadly, he is not alone.
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy repeatedly refers to the value of American soft power. Yet, in both word and deed, they have squandered that power. It has taken just a year to put at risk what took generations to build.
