Canadians are waiting to see how Donald Trump retaliates, but Davos proved one thing: America is alone.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 26, 2026.
OTTAWA—Going along to get along is over.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made it clear at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week that the time for appeasement of a major power is dead.
Carney’s speech resonated around the world, as the Davos audience responded with a standing ovation.
The call for middle powers to work together was not lost on other countries with whom the prime minister hopes to cooperate. Nor was it lost on United States President Donald Trump.
Carney was careful not to specifically mention Trump in his speech, but the message about the end of the current world order could not have been clearer.
Carney appealed to middle-power cooperation as the only antidote to balance out the hegemonic mentality of the stronger, major powers including the U.S. “If we are not at the table we are on the menu,” was how Carney bluntly put it.
Trump was quick to respond, claiming in his own Davos speech the next day that “Canada lives because of the United States.”
He also characterized Canadians as ungrateful, and caustically reminded “Mark” to remember that in the future.
Trump did not start calling Carney “governor,” which was the moniker he constantly used to describe former prime minister Justin Trudeau. But he made no bones about his belief that Canada does not appreciate American’s help in defence.
Canada does not appreciate being treated as a future 51st state. Recent polling showed that almost one-third of Canadians believe Trump could invade our country.
As Trump was speaking, leaders from Nordic countries were gathering in Canada’s North to discuss how the Arctic region might defend itself from invaders, including the threat that the president has made to invade Greenland.
In the past 200 years, Canadians and Americans have not feared each other. We have lauded the fact that we share the longest undefended border in the world. That hasn’t stopped Trump from claiming that he wants to take over Canada.
A few days ago, an image of a map of North America with Canada under the American flag was posted on Trump’s media feed as a photo of the presidential cabinet.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said last week he was at a complete loss for words to express how angry he was about the post. He encouraged British Columbians and other Canadians to continue their boycott of American booze and travel.
Americans are getting that kind of pushback from countries around the world. In contrast to Carney, the American president’s rambling message—which went on for more than an hour—was greeted with tepid applause. A number of listeners simply left the room while the president strangely kept mixing up the names of Greenland and Iceland.
At Davos, Trump repeated a statement made earlier in the week by two of his cabinet members, that he would always put “America first, but not America alone.”
But his words do not match his actions. Everything he has done as president is making enemies of former friends. Instead, he reached out to enemies like North Korea and Russia. Europe is on edge, and Latin America is wondering who could be next for military takeover.
Trump’s insistence that America needs to take over Greenland—and his threat to use military action—has prompted North Atlantic Treaty Organization colleagues to plan defence of Greenland against a NATO member.
The stock market responded negatively to Trump’s Greenland threats, and that may be why he told Davos he would not use military force to take over Greenland.
Shortly after, Trump issued a statement claiming he would not invade Greenland by force because the Americans were working with NATO on a solution that would satisfy everyone.
He also backed off imposing tariffs by Feb. 1 on all European countries opposed to his Greenland takeover. The climb down was clear recognition that America is rapidly becoming isolated because of Trump’s unpredictable and illegal threats.
The global political landscape has been unravelling ever since Trump’s re-election in November 2024.
Carney’s global message is that we can’t count on nostalgia to fix the problem. The old word order is gone. Anyone who wants a rules-based international system,has got to respond to the realpolitik that the U.S. under Trump is no longer a trusted ally.
Trump knows that Carney has already been working with other leaders on a new way to establish rules that bullies cannot override.
Canadians are waiting to see how Trump retaliates, but Davos proved one thing.
America is alone.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.