Mark Carney doesn't care about International Law
Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, has been in the news lately. First for
pivoting towards China by signing a partnership between the two countries in January 20261 and pivoting away from the US. As this means pivoting away from American war crimes as well I am in full support. Second, in a speech at Davos on the 20th of January2 he very clearly signalled the end of the American world order and bluntly exposed the hypocrisy of it by saying "the strongest would exempt themselves (from international rules) when convenient", that "trade rules were enforced asymmetrically", and most tragically that "international law applied with varied rigor, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim."
But we have to be clear that what Carney is admitting to is prioritizing the illusion of stability and fair international institutions over terrible violations of morality and humanity over the decades that he has been the Governor of the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, and now the Prime Minister of Canada here at the start of 2026.
And for all of his claims to be "Principled in our commitment to fundamental values, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the prohibition of the use of force except when consistent with the UN Charter and respect for human rights." He ignored this with the use of force and violation of Venezuelan sovereignty less than three weeks ago on the 3rd of January 2026 which was the American invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its leader Nicholas Maduro3.
In a statement less than a day later4, Mark Carney did not even mention this but instead said he 'welcomes the opportunity' that this breaking of international law provided. Varied rigor in International Law indeed, Mr. Carney.
Mark Carney doesn't care about Human Rights
It's even worse with Human Rights and there's no greater proof of this then the fact that he continues to turn a blind eye to Canadian weapons flowing to the genocidal state of Israel5 and that he rushed off to sign a trade deal with the UAE even though it's clear their responsibility for the genocide in Sudan6
Values
Carney has proven by his actions that he values open sea lanes, stable financial systems, and the flow of capital, over preventing genocide. His political calculation seems to be that enough Canadians will go along with him on this horror. All I can say is that I won't. He has made me complicit enough in Israeli atrocities with my Canadian tax dollars going to that country's unceasing evil7. I won't be complicit with my vote as well. I voted for his party in the last election, it'll take more than a pretty speech to earn it in the next one. It's time to walk the walk and not just talk the talk PM Carney.
Final thoughts
So here are my final thoughts. Mark Carney in his speech in Davos on the 20th of January clearly spelled out the problem with the currently dying American world order when he said "international law applied with varied rigor, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim." A problem in which Canada is still fully complicit. The issue is he didn't commit to doing anything about these injustices, which is very Canadian, and he didn't even apologize for it, which isn't very Canadian at all. Both are big problems for anyone who puts a priority on things like justice.
The second big issue is by talking about being "pragmatic" and "engaging broadly" he gives the rationale by which Canada keeps supplying military equipment to ICE, the IDF, and the UAE, to carry out horrific atrocities. If Carney keeps allowing his "pragmatism" to overrule his "principles" to this degree, then there are no principles at all.
The fact that Brampton made armoured vehicles8 are going to ICE in the United States is reprehensible. Call your federal representatives and demand that Canada stop supplying military equipment to ICE, Israel, and the UAE as the bare minimum to keep up even a pretense of Canadian values.
All opinions my own, in the end only God knows best.