We’re guessing it was a pretty awkward afternoon at Davos for the White House delegation.
What happened: In a speech at the World Economic Forum yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the rules-based global order is finished, calling out certain governments for using economic coercion to exploit their allies.
“You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination,” Carney said.
In the pointed speech, Carney also voiced his support for Greenland’s sovereignty and called on fellow “middle powers” to work together to counter the aggression of the most powerful nations.
Why it matters: The prime minister’s address, delivered to the applause of the world’s political and business elite, felt like a eulogy for the post-World War Two international order and a warning of more chaotic times to come. Ottawa has started to act accordingly, not just with new trade deals, but with a firmer response to American aggression.
Per the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Armed Forces have now modelled a hypothetical U.S. military invasion of Canada, reportedly the first time in a century that Canada’s military has even explored such an attack.
Donald Trump has long mused about Canada becoming the 51st state, but since the U.S.'s intervention in Venezuela and push to take over Greenland, Ottawa appears to be taking the threat more seriously.
Bottom line: For decades, Canada’s economic prosperity and national security have hinged on our friendship with the U.S. Untangling that web of dependence won’t be easy, but as Carney put it, “if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”—LA