Mark Carney mesmerised Davos. But his words aren’t fooling everyone

 Mark Carney’s approval rating has soared to record highs after a Davos speech in which he confronted Donald Trump and urged allies to unite against authoritarianism.

The Canadian prime minister’s popularity surged in the wake of his address to the World Economic Forum that called on “middle powers” to rally together against bullying by the United States.

The speech also resonated among leaders in Europe, where Mr Carney received praise for his blunt assessment of global power politics.

A poll released on Monday by the Angus Reid Institute, a Canadian research group, found that Mr Carney’s approval rating had jumped eight points to 60 per cent – his highest figure since being elected prime minister in March.

The US president’s popularity, meanwhile, slumped to 38 per cent, tied for the lowest rating he has received in his second term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Mr Carney came to power unexpectedly last year by offering an alternative to Canada’s mainstream Right, which had grown close to Mr Trump.

In the Swiss Alps last week, the former Bank of England governor railed against “great powers” using economic integration as “weapons”. He warned of the danger for mid-sized countries that “integration becomes the source of your subordination”.

“The middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he said.

His words, widely interpreted as a rallying cry against Mr Trump, enchanted much of the Davos elite, who praised him for his unsparing recognition of the new reality in a way most European leaders had not.

On Tuesday, a defiant Mr Carney said he told Mr Trump that he stood by his remarks. “To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president: ‘I meant what I said in Davos.’”

A week on, the “Carney Doctrine” was still ricocheting through Brussels.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told a European Defence summit on Wednesday that Mr Carney “hit the nail on its head”, urging Europe to “act with urgency” by acknowledging the “tectonic shift” away from Cold War-era world order.

An EU diplomat said his words were “received very positively across the board ... his analysis may not be new, but that is what we needed to hear”, they told The Telegraph.

Amid the US threatening to take Greenland and its uncertain commitment to Nato, Mr Carney “has shown a strong openness to Europe that we should face common challenges together”.

Another EU diplomat, however, cautioned that his declaration of partial independence from American-led order is far from a blueprint for Europe.

“It’s one thing to say Pax Americana is over, but on a professional level, it’s poppycock … As a politician you should not just pinpoint a problem but set out the way forward. His analysis is correct, but what’s next?”

First, he is having to face the White House’s retribution.

It came swiftly. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, encouraged Alberta’s secessionist movement, telling the oil-rich province to “come on down” to America, while Mr Trump revoked his invitation for Mr Carney to join his Board of Peace to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction.

Mr Trump also threatened Canada with 100 per cent tariffs if it pursued a trade deal with China, warning its growing economic cooperation with Beijing was “systematically destroying” itself.

Mr Carney had visited Beijing before Davos, signing a deal to reduce tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian agricultural projects, breaking step with US policy.

Mr Carney, in his comments on Tuesday, said he is merely diversifying Canada’s trade abroad. “Canada was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that he initiated, and we’re responding to that.”

But just like Sir Keir Starmer as he embarks on his four-day visit, the Canadian leader will have to navigate the difficulty of managing relations between two rival superpowers.

The Prime Minister on Wednesday somewhat rejected Mr Carney’s call for middle powers to band together, insisting his “common sense” British approach would work, as he attempts to build bridges with Washington, Brussels and Beijing at the same time.

The US will also launch a formal review this year of the North American trade treaty (USMCA) – last negotiated in 2018. The Trump administration is expected to push for further concessions from Canada.

On the home front, Mr Carney faces major hurdles ahead. While he remains more popular than his Conservative Party rival, Pierre Poilievre, polls show that the Liberals only have a narrow lead.

It is also harder for Mr Carney to pursue his agenda when he leads a minority government.

“Canada understands it has to forge its own path on a number of different fronts. Carney’s declarative, elbows-up moment at Davos is something that Canadians appreciated,” said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute.

“But there are major domestic challenges,” she added.

Canadians are grappling with rising costs and expensive housing, feeling the symptoms of US tariffs on steel, car and aluminium industries and unsettled by the repeated US threats towards their sovereignty.

Mr Carney’s movement towards closer ties with Beijing was also met with caution, concern and suspicion. “But Canadians are internalising the fact that in the absence of a long-relied-upon, cooperative economic relationship with the US, Canada has to find other nations to do business with,” Ms Kurl added.

“As long as Trump remains the main protagonist in Canadian domestic politics ... Canadians will favour a leader who is willing to stand up to him”.

Roland Paris, professor of internal affairs at the University of Ottawa, said: “For now, Mark Carney is the right man at the right moment. There is an understanding in Canada that simply trying to placate Trump is not a sufficient strategy.”