Carney urges Aussies to join him in ‘post-rupture world,’ in speech to parliament
CANBERRA — Middle power countries can re-shift the global balance in the face of powerful hegemons, but only if they come together to form new coalitions, Prime Minister Mark Carney told Australian lawmakers.
Carney’s journey to pivot away from Canada’s closest ally led him to one of its farthest, where he became the first Canadian prime minister in nearly two decades to address Australia’s parliament.
“The question for middle powers like us is whether we establish the conventions and help write the new rules that will determine our security and prosperity or let the hegemons increasingly dictate outcomes?”
Carney arrived in the Australian capital of Canberra roughly a month after international applause rang out for the speech he delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he first urged middle powers to unite in the face of “hegemons,” like the United States and China.
Australian lawmakers were among those who praised Carney’s words, given its own middle power status and challenges navigating Trump.
It was with that similarity in mind that Carney arrived in Australia, spending the first two days in Sydney, taking in business meetings mixed in with a personal day and also speaking to a think tank where he previewed some of the themes in his speech to Australia’s House of Representatives.
Arriving at its parliament, Carney was welcomed by a military band playing O Canada and 19-gun salute, which is reserved for heads of governments.
He walked into the chamber to applause, with the galleries above nearly full.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Carney by recounting the roles Canadians have played in his country’s history, earning laughs when he said his country had always welcomed “Canadian rebels with bold ideas.”
He also referred to the wartime address Australia’s prime minister John Curtain gave to Canada’s Parliament in 1944, before Canadian and Australian soldiers stormed and took Juno beach.
Australian Opposition Leader Angus Taylor also welcomed Carney by recounting their college days together, joking their professors were more interested in Carney’s thesis than his own about beer and that he was happy to see Canada “led by an old friend.”
Albanese also said the distance between Canada and Australia “has never mattered less.”
Carney described the Canada-Australia relationship as one forged by “shared values” and “common battles,” not by proximity or borders —a stark contrast to Canada’s relationship with the U.S.
Since his Davos address, Carney has emerged as a kind of poster prime minister for championing middle power countries to unite as a solution to the economic threats and volatility from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Today in Sydney, Canadian and Australian investment leaders announced a new agreement that will make it easier to invest between our countries.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 4, 2026
That’s means more opportunities for our businesses, more growth for our economy, and higher-paying careers for Canadian workers. pic.twitter.com/M8pSdyD7bw
Before his speech, he met privately with Albanese and his cabinet, which is rare for another country’s head of government to be invited to do.
The pair were set to hold a joint news conference following Carney’s address.
Speaking to Australia’s parliament, he struck a hopeful tone in how like-minded countries can form new alliances, pointing to Australia and Canada as examples.
He said while “great powers can compel,” middle powers can use their reputations to “convene” in what he described as a “post-rupture world.”
“Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions,” said Carney.
That trust has been “earned” throughout their respective histories, he continued.
“The question now is what we do with it.”
Carney traced the history of Canada-Australia relations from their respective founding and commitments made to advance Indigenous reconciliation and women’s rights.
He opened his speech by acknowledging the Australian firefighters seated in the gallery who came to Canada last year to battle out-of-control wildfires in his “home province of Alberta.”
Carney also announced that a series of agreements had been signed between the two to better collaborate on critical minerals.
Canada also sees defence as another major area it can work more closely with Australia, given that both countries belong to the same Five Eyes intelligence sharing network.
Carney’s trip to Australia is the first one that a Canadian prime minister has made since 2007, when former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper last made the trek.
After that, the last time Harper set foot in Australia as prime minister was when the country hosted the G20 leaders’ summit in 2014.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau never made the trip, which Carney was invited to do months ago, hoping to shore up relationships with countries Canada regards as like-minded middle powers and remind them that, as one senior official said, “we’re not making assumptions.”
“Sometimes it’s easy to take your closest allies for granted,” said the official, who briefed reporters on a not-for-attribution basis.
National Post
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