Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, has been at the centre of global attention following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s striking intervention at the World Economic Forum in Davos. His stark analysis captured both the failure of today’s international system and the urgency of renewal.
World leaders made a similar diagnosis at the United Nations in September 2024. Their response, the Pact for the Future, was earnest but bureaucratic – heavy on process, light on transformation. It failed to inspire and quickly succumbed to the very weaknesses Prime Minister Carney identified: an international rules-based system that no longer delivers stability, fairness, or opportunity.
Prime Minister Carney has done the world a service by naming this reality plainly. He has punctured the illusion that incremental reform will suffice and challenged us to reclaim multilateralism not as a constraint, but as a source of shared strength.
Davos exposed a deeper truth. The assumption that global cooperation still guarantees predictable norms, stable growth, rising living standards and social mobility no longer holds. Our institutions – national, international and multilateral – are struggling to meet the moment. The post-Second World War settlement, designed to preserve a status quo that worked for a few, now works for fewer still. Not for advanced economies facing stagnation and discontent. Not for developing countries trapped at the bottom of global value chains. And not for businesses and investors navigating uncertainty with outdated tools.
Above all, it is not working for people – confronting declining opportunities, rising costs of living, and a widening gap between promise and reality.
At the heart of this crisis is a failure of imagination. A system that sustains progress in a globalised world must be designed to work for every country and every community. The world is now one marketplace. That demands fresh thinking and the courage to act differently. Too often, ambition is constrained by fear – fear of change, of unfamiliar ground, of disrupting inherited structures.
For those who share my conviction that repeating yesterday’s solutions will not produce tomorrow’s transformation, I offer the example, experience and new energy of the Commonwealth.
At a time when the global order is being shaken by unilateralism, protectionism, climate disruption, technological upheaval and democratic backsliding, the new Commonwealth offers a model rooted in partnership, not dependency – equality, not hierarchy – shared prosperity, not zero-sum competition.
That partnership rests on four pillars.
First: trade and investment. Trade is the lifeblood of prosperity. Trade among Commonwealth countries is already around 21 per cent cheaper – the Commonwealth Advantage. We are turning advantage into opportunity. Under my leadership, trade and investment are at the centre of the Commonwealth’s renewal. We are building platforms that connect entrepreneurs, innovators and investors across continents, lowering barriers, harmonising rules, and enabling small businesses – especially women- and youth-led enterprises – to integrate into regional and global value chains. We are mobilising investment in digital trade, agribusiness, green energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, and skills.
Second: economic resilience and finance. Many economies are being squeezed by debt, external shocks and rising borrowing costs. While countries must strengthen transparency and governance, the global financial system itself must change. Access to concessional finance and blended capital remains too limited, too slow, too conditional. Global finance must be re-engineered – not to preserve privilege, but to unlock potential for all.
Third: climate and sustainability. Climate shocks are no longer abstract risks; they are daily realities – driving heatwaves, floods, food insecurity, displacement and instability. Yet the Commonwealth includes green superpowers in waiting, with immense capacity in renewable energy, critical minerals, climate-smart agriculture and sustainable supply chains. Through our Living Lands Agenda, Blue Charter and Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda, we are helping mobilise investment for a renewable energy revolution that delivers both growth and resilience.
Fourth: democracy and the democratic dividend. Democratic reversals are increasing worldwide. Democracy is not a luxury; it is the infrastructure of prosperity and investment. The Commonwealth will continue to stand for democratic values, developing early warning tools and supporting institutions, civic dialogue and good governance – because without trust and accountability, development cannot endure.
The era of modest ambition is over.
When I sought this office, I argued that a Commonwealth Free Trade Area could unlock larger markets, stronger businesses and shared prosperity – what I called the democratic dividend. Some urged caution. Davos made clear that business-as-usual carries far greater risk.
The Commonwealth - 56 countries representing one-third of humanity – has not stood still. Our Strategic Plan for 2025–2030, endorsed by Foreign Ministers last year, responds directly to the fractures Prime Minister Carney described. We are building a dynamic marketplace for 2.7 billion people – but trade is only half the story.
Our greatest asset is our people. Sixty per cent of Commonwealth citizens are under 30. This demographic dividend can power global growth – if talent is matched with opportunity. We are scaling technology-enabled education and skills to reach millions, not thousands.
Sixty-two years ago, at a Commonwealth Leaders’ Meeting in No.10 Downing Street, London, newly independent nations, together with the UK, Canada and others, chose cooperation through voluntary association. Today, the choice that confronts us is even more consequential- greater integration in a fragmenting world.
The message from Davos – and from the Commonwealth – is clear: cooperation, grounded in shared values and translated into action, remains the only credible path forward. Together, we will prove that acting together remains both possible and indispensable.
