Speaking before the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney claimed the global order is experiencing a “rupture” following continuing pressure from President Donald Trump U.S. control over Greenland.
Although Carney did not mention the U.S. or Trump by name, he said the “international rules‑based order” has become a “fiction,” arguing that powerful countries increasingly act without regard for long-standing norms, according to Global News. Carney’s remarks came just days after he declared a “new world order” during a visit to China, and praised the “leadership of President Xi Jinping.”
“I will talk today about the breaking of the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a brutal reality where the geopolitics of the great powers is not subject to any constraint,” Carney said at Davos, where leaders from across the world are gathered this week. “Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry — that the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.”
“Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has stepped up its push for Greenland, arguing the semi-autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark is vital to U.S. security interests.
Ahead of Carney’s speech, Trump declined to say whether he would use military force to seize the Danish territory and posted an image on his Truth Social platform featuring a fake map that showed Canada, Greenland and Venezuela under the U.S. flag.
“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and we knew that international law applied with varied rigor, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim,” Carney remarked at the forum.
“This fiction was useful, and American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security, and support for frameworks for resolving disputes,” the prime minister continued. “So we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality.”
“This bargain no longer works,” he declared.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the World Economic Forum at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based international order” is finished and “will not return.”
“For decades, countries like Canada benefited from what was called the rules-based international order,” Carney… https://t.co/iLkI0daMBW pic.twitter.com/Ty2P59dR0c
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) January 20, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the World Economic Forum at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based international order” is finished and “will not return.”
Carney’s speech capped a three-country trip that established “new strategic partnerships” with China and Qatar.
The Canadian prime minister said Friday that the country remains “full-square behind” its NATO obligations, and stressed that “the future of Greenland is a decision for Greenland and for the Kingdom of Denmark.” He also said Friday that he found “much alignment” between his views on Greenland and those of Xi, according to CTV News.
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