Carney urges middle powers to coordinate rather than compete for U.S. Favor

Summary

Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor now leading Canada into a new political chapter, is making a case that ought to make capitals from Canberra to Brussels sit up: stop lining up to court Washington one by one, and start acting like the bloc you actually are. His math is blunt. Canada and the European Union together represent more than twice the population of the United States, control an economy of roughly comparable size, and spend on defense at twice the rate of China. Carney has been pressing this argument at forums ranging from Davos to G7 summits, and diplomats across Europe and Australia say it is landing. The pitch is less about anti-Americanism than about arithmetic: mid-sized wealthy nations that compete individually for American approval are, in his framing, leaving enormous collective leverage on the table. The backdrop is a geopolitical moment when the traditional postwar architecture is visibly under strain and smaller powers feel squeezed between Washington, Beijing, and an unpredictable global trading system. Carney's coalition-building push is drawing attention precisely because he has the credibility of someone who has sat at the tables he is now trying to rearrange.