In a powerful address delivered at a historic military fortress in Quebec City, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called on his country to be a “beacon to a world that’s at sea” during these turbulent times. Carney’s remarks, which he largely penned himself, come in the wake of his earlier comments at the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, where he lamented the disintegration of the rules-based global order and the rise of “great powers” wielding economic “coercion” as a weapon.
While Carney’s Davos speech, dubbed the “Carney Doctrine,” took a broader, international focus, his Thursday address zeroed in on defending Canadian values and articulating his vision for the country’s place in a rapidly changing world. Carney made it clear that Canada cannot single-handedly solve the world’s problems, but asserted that “the arc of history isn’t destined to be warped towards authoritarianism and exclusion” and that it “can still bend towards progress and justice.”
The prime minister’s remarks included a jab at US President Donald Trump, who had earlier suggested that Canada was insufficiently “grateful” for the state of its economy, which Trump claimed was the result of American generosity. Carney firmly rebutted this notion, stating: “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian. We are masters of our home. This is our country.”
Despite international acclaim for his blunt assessment of the “rupture” in the geopolitical order, Carney has faced pushback from the opposition Conservative party, who argue that his recent trade missions to China and Qatar have produced little concrete investment and distracted him from pressing domestic challenges.
Carney acknowledged Canada’s imperfect history, including the sustained “dispossession” of Indigenous peoples and the “violation” of treaties – a reality that persists to the present day. However, he expressed optimism, stating that “when we are united, unity grows. When we are Canadian – inclusive, fair, ambitious – Canada grows.”
As Carney prepares to meet with his cabinet and attend briefings before parliament resumes on Monday, his governing Liberals hold a precarious one-seat minority in the House of Commons. Nonetheless, the prime minister’s rousing call for Canada to be a “beacon” in turbulent times has resonated with many, as the country grapples with the dramatic reshaping of the global political order.
