This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, January 27, 2026
With China’s growing military and economic strength, Russia’s aggression and Trump’s America First strategy, the liberalized world order seems to be on its deathbed. So said Prime Minster Mark Carney in his Davos speech Tuesday. We have entered into a new world order in which trade liberalization and financial integration give way to economic warfare and falling support for international organizations like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
In his speech in Davos Wednesday, mercurial Donald Trump asserted that U.S. supremacy is good for the world. “The U.S.A. is the economic engine of the planet. And when America booms, the entire world booms.” Trump is willing to pursue the full possibilities of American might even if it discomforts allies that have long benefited from the open markets, defence umbrella and stable financial system America has provided. Trump pointed out in his speech that Carney is not grateful for America’s benefits freely given to Canada, which foretells difficult future trade negotiations.
Carney’s response to America’s asserting itself is a “principled and pragmatic” approach founded on “value-based realism.” Middle powers should band together in loose coalitions, issue by issue, to assert their own power.
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Jack Mintz is the President’s Fellow at the University of Calgary’s school of public policy and a distinguished fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
