He received the biggest applause at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and his speech has subsequently been shared and listened to all over the world.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has finally stepped out of the shadow of his popular predecessor Justin Trudeau and has taken center stage on the geopolitical stage with a strong message that there is still an alternative to populism and nationalism: democracy and diversity, which Canada has proven itself to be.
New World Order
According to Carney, the current American worldview based on power, pressure and threats can be counterbalanced by a worldview based on justice and community.
"Other countries – especially medium-sized countries like Canada – are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order based on values such as respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states," the speech said.
According to Carney, we should not accept that strong countries do whatever they want and that small and weak countries must suffer and adapt to avoid problems.
We must insist on cooperation
According to Carney, the solution is not for each country to entrench itself behind its own little fortress, but for us to insist on cooperation:
“The old order is not returning. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But out of the fracture we can build something better, stronger and more just. This is the task of the middle-sized countries – those who have the most to lose in a world of fortresses and the most to gain in a world of genuine cooperation. The powerful have their power. But we also have something – the ability to stop pretending. The ability to build our strength at home and to act together. That is Canada’s path, and it is open to any country that will join us,” it was said in Davos.
After the speech in Davos, several new trade agreements have actually been concluded, including between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as between the EU and India.
Natural partner for Greenland
Carney's speech has not gone unnoticed in Greenland either. At Greenland's Chamber of Commerce, director Christian Keldsen completely agrees that alliances are also Greenland's strongest card.
– Greenland is neither an economic nor a military power. Where we are strong is in our alliances. In both Canada and the EU countries we encounter a business, cultural and social community. And Canada in particular has been a natural partner for Greenland for many years, says Christian Keldsen.
PDAC with a focus on Canada
This is also reflected at the annual PDAC (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada) raw materials fair in Toronto at the beginning of March, where a large Greenlandic delegation of business leaders, politicians and officials has participated for many years, and where the focus this year is actually on the Canadian cooperation opportunities.
– The last few years we have focused on the EU and the USA, respectively, and this year it is the Canadian opportunities that are on the agenda again during our Greenland Day at PDAC, says Christian Keldsen.
Canadian interest in Greenland
Canada is particularly active in Greenland in the mineral sector, where Canadian companies hold several mineral licenses, including Greenland Resources, Neo Performance Materials, Amaroq Minerals and Pulsar Helium. In addition, Canadian contractor Pennecon is putting the finishing touches on the new airport in Qaqortoq.
– Canada has extensive experience in both working in the Arctic and increasing value creation so that locals are not spectators of business development, but part of it. This has not been achieved in the same way in, for example, Alaska, says Christian Keldsen, adding that Carney also has some good points in relation to revisiting the ideologies on which our society is built, including in Greenland.
– We have a new situation in the world. We can no longer just look inward and decide everything ourselves. We also have to adjust to external expectations and mechanisms, and that is probably a bit new for us in Greenland because we come from a more introverted period, says Christian Keldsen.
