Flip through your social media app of choice right now and you’ll find that nostalgia is back in vogue. Rather than focus on the hard truths of 2026 when coffee prices are through the roof and Greenland is on the frontlines of defending itself against the threats of the world’s most vocal politician, social media has dictated that we instead look fondly upon the 2016 memory bank of the past. While the photos appear far grainer, the days were no doubt a little brighter.
2016 was the year that marked then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first headline speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He took the opportunity to impart upon the world that moving forward, Canada would deliver on a values-based approach in order to create sustainable, economic growth.
Climate change, technology, and “positive leadership” were the central themes unleashed on a crowd that was primed to receive the newly minted prime minister, who had a commanding majority and was ushering in a new era of sunny ways. This path forward, opined Trudeau, would define the “fourth industrial” revolution and be the reason why countries would look to Canada as the new frontier for sustainable, economic growth.
The last decade brought about the rise and fall of Trudeau, and a recognition that Canada is poorly prepared to deal with the dismantling of the global geopolitical playbook that has governed the western world since the post-World War II era. The Liberals would go on to win the election after Trudeau resigned last year, but the fact that the Carney government has spent significant political capital rolling back Trudeau-era policies without any serious blowback from Canadians speaks volumes about the current political landscape.
While both the former and current prime minister found themselves in Davos this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s keynote address bore no resemblance to the tone and tenor of his predecessor. Carney spoke of the erosion of the rules-based international order, and the need for Canada to join with other middle powers to counter the rise of hard power.
Just days after Canada made a deal to ease tariffs on canola exports in exchange for the lifting of Chinese-EV tariffs, the speech fills in some of the gaps about how the Carney government is weighing its options to offset the impacts of an increasingly tense relationship with the United States. While there are real concerns about opening Canada’s markets to countries who’ve failed to operate under the same democratic norms of respect for the rule of law, free and fair elections, and protection of human rights, the government is at least being transparent in how, and why, it is making decisions.
What remains unclear is how the speech will age in the days, weeks, and months ahead. At some point, the standing ovation that Carney received after delivering his remarks will fade into the background and much like the polaroid-esque Instagram posts of the era, we will eventually see with clear eyes whether he was able to deliver on his vision for a new path for Canada.
Josie Sabatino is a Senior Consultant at Summa Strategies, focused on providing strategic insight and helping clients meet their objectives in an ever changing and complex political and regulatory environment. Prior to joining Summa, Josie spent nearly a decade in political communications and most recently served as the Director of Communications to the Hon. Erin O’Toole, former Leader of the Official Opposition.
