DAVOS, SWITZERLAND — Prime Minister Mark Carney asserted that Canada “stands firmly” with Greenland, telling attendees at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that Canada “strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland.”

His comments come just days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap a 10 per cent tariff on several European countries after they sent troops to Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory that Trump has repeatedly insisted he “needs” for national security purposes.

While Carney sent a clear message in making reference to economic coercion and tariffs being used as leverage throughout his speech, he did not call out the United States or the American president by name.

Switzerland Davos Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Also in his speech, Carney charted a new path forward for Canada, one in which the old world order is not coming back.

“Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said in a speech at Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday.

“More recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons,” he added. “Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”

The 17-minute keynote address was Carney’s first to the World Economic Forum since becoming prime minister. He framed the current moment as a break in the old world order, and as a test for middle powers like Canada.

His speech, to a room packed with politicians, media and business leaders, underscored an evolution of how states should navigate the economic and political challenges facing them in the 21st century.

“In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favour, or to combine to create a third path with impact,” Carney said.

Carney urged middle powers to work together to uphold or create a new world order based on shared values. Diversification, he argued, is the foundation for honest policy that gives countries strength and a hedge against coercion.

Carney and Macron Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

“Allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty,” Carney said. “They’ll buy insurance, increase options, in order to rebuild sovereignty — sovereignty which was once grounded in rules — but will be increasingly anchored in the ability to withstand pressure.”

“If great powers abandon even the pretense of rules and values for the unhindered pursuit of their power and interests, the gains from transnationalism become harder to replicate,” he also said. “Hegemons cannot continually monetize their relationships.”

Carney’s attendance at Davos wraps up a 10-day global trip, in which the prime minister went to China for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as a several-day stop in Qatar and meeting with the Amir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

This is a breaking news story. More to come.