We Need to Talk about Davos

Season 3 kicks off with a hard look at the world as it is—not as we wish it were. In this episode of Secure Line, Steph Carvin, Leah West, and Jess Davis unpack Mark Carney’s much-discussed speech at the World Economic Forum, and what it reveals about the collapse of the liberal international order, Canada’s shrinking room to maneuver, and the uncomfortable reality of great-power competition.The conversation moves from trade and geopolitics to international law, sanctions, and the fracturing of the global financial system. The hosts debate whether multilateralism still works, whether international law is becoming more contractual and fragmented, and how the erosion of U.S. leadership is accelerating alternative financial systems that blunt sanctions and empower actors like Russia, China, and Iran.Looking ahead, the episode surveys what 2026 may bring: the prospects (or lack thereof) for major Canadian legislation on lawful access, cybersecurity, and financial crime; looming trade negotiations; the future of NATO in an era of U.S. unpredictability; and why cuts to Canada’s diplomatic capacity may undermine the very strategy Carney is calling for. Sobering, candid, and sharply analytical, this episode sets the tone for a season grappling with insecurity, fragmentation, and the limits of state power in a rapidly changing world.