Senior diplomat skeptical of Carney's middle powers pitch

Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026.

OTTAWA — Malaysia’s high commissioner in Canada says she is skeptical about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push to have middle powers band together against the great power of the world’s dominant nations.

Shazelina Abidin told the Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s annual trade conference in Ottawa on Tuesday that Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum was profound, not because of its content but because it was delivered by a G7 leader.

However, she also said there have been several movements of middle powers in the past but they haven’t worked because the parameters of which countries are included are unclear.

In that Davos speech, Carney said the world has entered a risky new age of great power rivalries and that Canada is working to expand non-U.S. trade in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.

Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada president Jeff Nankivell, said leaders aren’t publicly signing up to join the coalition, though many are expressing interest in private.

Deputy High Commissioner for the Republic of India to Canada Chinmoy Naik said India generally sidesteps the terminology of “middle powers” and focuses on working with like-minded nations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press