Jim Chalmers says Canadian PM's 'stunning' denunciation of Trump is being widely discussed in Australian government | Australian foreign policy | The Guardian
Treasurer joins former PM Malcom Turnbull in praising Mark Carney's comments at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos
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Treasurer joins former PM Malcom Turnbull in praising Mark Carney's comments at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos
At this week's annual gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mark Carney said "we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition".
Speaking before the US president's backdown on his threats to take control of Greenland by any means necessary, Carney told assembled leaders it was time to recognise the "brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints".
'The powerful have their power. We have the capacity to stop pretending': the Canadian PM's call to action at Davos | Mark CarneyRead more
"Stop invoking rules-based international order as though it still functions as advertised," he said.
"Call it what it is: a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion."
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As former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called on Anthony Albanese to revisit the "terrible" Aukus submarine deal, the treasurer on Thursday morning said Carney had delivered "a stunning speech".
"I thought it was very impactful, very thoughtful; certainly widely shared and discussed in our government," Chalmers told ABC radio.
"The powerful point that he made is that a lot of the old certainties are breaking down. We see that in escalating trade tensions, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, discussions in Nato, you see it in behaviour on markets.
"So for Australia, and no doubt for Canada, the point that prime minister Carney was making is that our interests are best served by cooperation and by managing our differences within international law and international institutions."
Canada's prime minister Mark Carney speaks during the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, 20 January, 2026.
Turnbull, who as prime minister had his own run-ins with the volatile American president during his first term, called on Albanese to deliver a similar message.
"Anthony Albanese should give the same speech because basically the message is: we will not be bullied, we will maintain our sovereignty. And as a middle power, we will work with other middle powers to stand up to the bully," he said.
Turnbull told ABC radio that anyone who has been "paying attention to what's happening in the world" would know the Canadian PM was right.
"If you are integrated with the United States economically or you are dependent on the United States, Trump will use that as a vulnerability and exploit it," Turnbull said.
At the very start of Trump's first term, the former PM in a famously tense phone call pushed Trump to honour an Obama-era deal to resettle refugees detained on Nauru.
"I took the view when I was PM, as you know, to stand up to Trump, and it worked very well," he said.
"The only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them."
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Does anyone imagine that Carney's brilliant speech went unnoticed in the world's chanceries?
An Australian had the balls to speak up - do the European nations?
Macron has been pretty vocal.
It hurts to say that because I'm not at all a Macron fan.
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This is a quote from Konstantin Kisin on X .
Davos is basically all the people who have created the problems, denied their existence and then called us names for pointing them out... explaining what the problems are and how we desperately need to fix them
Which the link underneath will also show for those who can't follow that.
Although I can't open that "x" under your comment, one of my clients owned a large cross-Canada industry. His wife was Swiss, and they attended Davos annually and thought it was quite beneficial.
Probably is a fine time with lots of money to be made.
But again, the people there are the ones who've screwed their respective countries.
If Europe (and Canada) had listened to Trump, and not the Davos crowd think how better off they'd be:
1. Stop destroying your countries with mass migration
2. Invest in your militaries
3. Cut the regulations that are strangling your economies
4. Don't build Nordstrom 2 or depend on Putin for energy.
Trump was right, the Davos crowd was wrong and now they have no idea how to move forward other than just bitching about Trump.
Well, they started going about 30 years ago, and their business became exceptionally successful. But I've not been in touch with them for more than a couple of decades so I'm not aware of what's been happening since then.
Canada better be careful
I wish I could watch that particular youtube. I have to imagine it would be about what Trump might do to harm Canada because he is a vengeful SOB.
Oh, okay, thanks. Well, it's not that unusual that Americans and Canadians make fun of each other, how ABOOT that?
Damn, sorry, I spelled aboot wrong. Of course if they said Rush instead of Nickelback I might have volunteered to go. Even Triumph for that matter.
We can't help putting a lot of "U" into our words, because if we didn't, our THOGHTS would be missing.