‘A global rupture’: Carney calls for Canada-EU unity before G7 summit

That speech generated shockwaves by questioning the long-term durability of existing global alliances. It cited violations of international law and the use of global economic integration as a “weapon” to coerce smaller countries.

The path forward, Carney said at the time, was to “build a new order” among the “intermediate powers” of the world, who together could wield as much power as any single state.

In response to that speech, Trump lashed out, using his podium at Davos to denounce Carney for a lack of deference.

“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they’re not,” Trump said at one point.

“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Carney, however, returned to similar themes on Saturday, comparing the might of the Canada-EU alliance to that of the world’s largest economies.

“ Together, we are powerful because we have the capacity to act together.  Together, we are powerful because we have the capacity to act together. Combined, the population is more than twice that of the United States,” Carney said. “Our collective defence budget is twice that of China’s.”

Since Carney became Canada’s prime minister in 2025, he has pushed to strengthen some of the bonds he mentioned in Saturday’s speech.

In May, Carney became the first non-European leader to join the European Political Community Summit, a forum for building security and economic strength across the continent.

In February, he also successfully oversaw a push for Canada to join Europe’s SAFE Instrument, a loan programme designed to help countries buy critical military defence supplies. Canada is the first non-European country to be part of that initiative, as well.

On Saturday, Carney added that he would like to see the European Union also build its ties with the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement that would ease trade barriers for nearly a dozen countries along the Pacific Ocean, including Canada.

Such an alliance, Carney explained, would create a trading bloc of more than a billion and a half people.

“ The nations that invest in their own capabilities and partner with like-minded allies will multiply their strength,” Carney said.

Citing mutual challenges like global conflicts and climate change, he called on the EU and Canada to draw on their shared history and goals.

“We have developed a unique worldview — a transatlantic worldview, if you will — rooted in a simple but profound conviction: that we are stronger when we are connected, that our prosperity grows when it’s shared, and that we are the stewards of our lands.”