Merve Aydogan
21 January 2026•Update: 21 January 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Tuesday that the international rules-based order has entered a period of “rupture, not a transition,” arguing that economic integration is increasingly being weaponized by major powers through tariffs, financial pressure, and supply-chain coercion.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Carney said the long-standing narrative of mutual benefit through global integration has collapsed as trade and financial systems are now used to impose subordination rather than shared prosperity.
“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false,” Carney said, adding that while American hegemony once provided global public goods such as open sea lanes and collective security, this fiction was useful for decades but the bargain sustaining that system “no longer works.”
Carney said successive finance, health, energy, and geopolitical crises over the past two decades have exposed the vulnerabilities of extreme global integration, but warned that recent developments mark a sharper break.
“Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons," he said. "Tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited."
“You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination,” Carney added.
'We stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark'
Carney also reaffirmed Ottawa's commitment to Greenland’s sovereignty. "On Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland's future," Carney said, stressing that the country's commitment to NATO's Article Five is unwavering.
He added that Ottawa is working with NATO allies to strengthen the Alliance’s northern and western flanks, citing Canada’s investments in over-the-horizon radar, submarines, aircraft and boots on the ground.
"Canada strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks to achieve our shared objectives of security and prosperity in the Arctic," he said, referring to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 10% tariffs on Denmark and other European allies over Trump’s calls for the US to acquire Greenland.
Trump announced Saturday that the tariffs would go into effect for Denmark, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden, France, and Finland on Feb. 1 “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” The levies are then expected to increase to 25% on June 1.
Carney added that Canada is championing efforts to link the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the European Union, creating a potential trading bloc of 1.5 billion people.
He also met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Davos summit and "reaffirmed their mutual commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark, including Greenland."
"They underscored that decisions on the future of Greenland are for Greenland and Denmark to decide," said a statement from the Prime Minister's office, noting that Carney and Macron agreed to continue working within NATO to secure the Arctic.
The two leaders also agreed to "intensify the longstanding cooperation" between their countries for "greater stability, security, and prosperity for people on both sides of the Atlantic," said the statement, adding "they discussed the importance of the relationship between the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union."
Also in Davos, Carney met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and "reaffirmed that decisions about the future of Greenland are for Greenland and Denmark to decide."
"Canada is significantly increasing its Arctic security by strengthening our military and investing in critical infrastructure," said the statement, adding that "Canada will continue to work with Allies to also protect this critical region, NATO's northern and western flanks."
