Jennifer Peltz, writing in The Associated Press:
Since a watershed speech to the World Economic Forum in January, Prime Minister Mark Carney has become a leading voice of what he and some others call “middle powers.” He has urged them to band together to update and preserve the international order, and protect their own interests, in an era of flexes by the United States and other global giants.
And he has shown himself willing to walk the walk when faced with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, insults and cavalier talk of annexation. Carney rejected what he said were unacceptable U.S. trade demands and walked away from talks last month. Bluntly hedging his country’s decades-long bet on U.S. trade and partnership, he has been courting other prospects – Canada might even become the European Union’s first associate member.
[…]
Canada and a half-dozen other countries launched a new group Monday meant to stand up for economic co-operation and UN-style international collaboration. An air traffic control mess at New York airports kept Carney from making it to the “partners for multilateralism” kickoff event at the UN Monday night, but his schedule Tuesday included personal meetings with Jordan’s king, the presidents of Chile and Angola, and an Emirati cabinet minister.
He also co-hosted a meeting on the long-elusive two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledged $100-million in humanitarian and security funding for Palestinians. Canada last year joined more than 150 countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, over the objections of Israel and its key ally, the U.S.