Mark Carney awesome speech at DAVOS

[frenella]

This is such an eloquent, intelligent speech! Impassioned but measured. Rare standing O definitely deserved. Canadians are so lucky to have Carney leading the country at this volatile time.

YouTube share.google/LXxQFCyUTkU9Fx0XQ Carney speech

What a great speech!

I'm about to re-listen to this podcast episode from Leading (Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart interviewing Mark Carney in 2023).

The Rest Is Politics: Leading on Global Player - share-gp.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrhRMM/

Oooooooh, thank you for that link @PaperBlueCornflower . I'm going to have another listen to that! I'd forgotten they interviewed him. Three clever men all having a chat - what's not to like! 😁

"All it will take for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing"

Mark Carney is an inspiration. I really hope that other leaders take heed and join with him.

I defineitly have a massive crush.

C'est le temps, peut-être, pour l'étudier la langue français.

(Edited for autoincorrect, remaining errors all my own. Memories of O level French may differ.)

www.instagram.com/reel/DTvuk-EksjE/?igsh=dDBtYmRvZnI0MGNt makes a sensible suggestion for resistance. I've only just started to follow this chap on Instagram but he seems sensible.

A strategic partnership with China. Is that not a concern?

Starmer is allowing a controversial embassy to be built too.

Why is China suddenly no longer a threat?

@Treacling I imagine China can be both a threat and a partner. That seems to be what the USA is these days!

@Treacling I was waiting for someone to say that

The content of his speech is interesting

But I have a feeling if someone else had said it, it would have been heavily criticised.

I disagree that Trump would not have understood it. "nostalgia is not a strategy". Indeed.

China and Canada together will be incredibly powerful. I still think Starmer's silence on the Chinese mega embassy is linked to this. When everybody has to take sides, Starmer wants to go there.

I have no criticism - but like you, I'm wondering when things shifted. I suppose they were shifting for several years now and nobody told us.

Yes but Davos is the actual name of the place they’re holding the conference at, it’s not an acronym.

@PerkingFaintlyThank you for the written translation! I was struggling with the French.

Brilliant speech. And I can't believe he delivered it without prompts, makes it all the more powerful.

I feel that there's a lot of interested parties watching this debacle (with popcorn). Those interests aren't in line with ours.

We are. Add to that how he has handled Trump during the 51st state thing it’s going well.

Not sure . Didn't doubt he could cut it as a politician but his first real speech when he was running about tariffs was great too. Worth a watch.

I think we are better off without NATO, we just cannot rely on the US, it’s time to move on without them and start untangling ourselves from them. We need a European defence industry so that we can be independent.

Thing is, it’s just a Canadian speech and who we are. More importantly and what was needed. No one wants to stand up to Trump and are complicit in trying to be his friend and ‘keeping the sign in the window’. There is no special relationship - only the UK ever thought so. We have the longest unmanned border in the world with the US and share far more with the US than the UK and he shat all over us.

We are friendly but straight and won’t be pushed around. Love him or have him even family and friends who didn’t like Trudeau liked this speech. . https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=52iAD5Q46so

The UK talks in subtleties and tries to say things without saying them at times (cultural thing, not a bad thing but difference) and sometimes you just need to tell it straight.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/16/over-reliance-on-china-could-hit-uk-energy-supply-chains-putting-9000-jobs-at-risk

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/23/the-second-china-shock-is-coming-and-the-uks-response-is-too-timid

In December 2025 the Guarduan said Europe were imposing tariffs on China. I really don’t get what has changed - these articles are very recent.

extract

In Beijing, Macron said the Chinese trade imbalance with Europe was “unbearable”, labelling it “a question of life or death” for the continent’s industry. To address this, the EU has imposed some tariffs on Chinese EV imports and established an import surveillance mechanism to monitor and report on unfair competition and dumping. The EU will doubtless become more assertive

<swoon>

Wow. That speech is so very, very impressive. I'm a bit lost for words. Go Canada!

Reuters yesterday.

Europe has, however, been tightening scrutiny of Chinese technology. Germany recently appointed an expert commission to reassess trade policy toward Beijing and has banned the use of Chinese components in future 6G telecoms networks.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/eu-phase-out-high-risk-tech-targets-huawei-chinese-companies-2026-01-20/

Looking at Chagos, the super embassy and these articles. Combined with Taiwan and the human rights records in China and their damage to the environment. I am not convinced and I will be doing more reading around this.

Carney may give a good speech and look pretty but I’m not sure he’s doing the right thing with China.

@Treacling the deal will see Canada ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles that it imposed in tandem with the US in 2024. In exchange, China will lower retaliatory tariffs on key Canadian agricultural products. China has 107 bi-lateral trade agreements with all sorts of Western countries. What is it about the one with Canada that particularly concerns you?

China’s surplus is difficult for other world economies- see the economist Paul Krugman on this on Substack, v informative. They got ahead of everybody else on solar and battery tech and risk leaving the EU and particularly the US in the dust. I’m not sure tariffs are the right response because we also need that tech to rapidly decarbonise, but we should be developing our own capabilities as fast as we can. The other thing to help would be to stop buying cheap Chinese crap on the internet (Temu etc).

Reading the speech though, I’m not sure Carney’s saying China is the answer, just that China could be a partner for some things, not all. I don’t think intelligence and security is included in that, just trade. I think he’s saying that Canada will build partnerships that are appropriate to the subject matter, with eyes open, and be willing to be defensive. I hope that means a not whole hearted switch towards China but something more measured.

Basically saying we should look after ourselves as sovereign nations, globalisation was a con, increase defence spending, protect our own borders and re-industrialise?

The chattering classes loved it, but when Orban/Farage say it they are like 'ohhhh nooo, extreme far-right rhetoric'

Funny old world, especially when he's just tried to re-align with China because another 3 years of distasteful Trump would be too much to bear, like sinking a boat because you don't like the current captain.

Anyway, onwards with Chagos, extra-national law obedience, off-shoring of our power manufacturing, can't tell you what a woman is, petty meddling government.

It's a funny old world.

Basically saying we should look after ourselves as sovereign nations, globalisation was a con, increase defence spending, protect our own borders and re-industrialise?

Is that all that you took from it?

Interesting.

There’s no point in reinventing the wheel. China has made solid advancements in many areas that could be beneficial to Canadians some trade isn’t a bad idea, because the recent past trade dispute had gotten out of hand.