Prime Minister Mark Carney doubled down on his claim that the international order will be “rebuilt out of Europe,” clarifying that he meant a rules-based coalition anchored by Canada, the EU, the UK, Australia, and other countries that share democratic and legal principles.
Asked what he meant after saying during his recent trip to Armenia that the international order would be rebuilt out of Europe, Carney tied the remark to Canada’s appointment of Louise Arbour as the country’s next governor general. He framed Arbour’s career in international justice as proof that democratic systems depend on the rule of law, equality before the law, and accountability for those who violate international norms.
“[She believes in] the rule of law that we’re all equal before that law. And imperfectly, the international system had variants of that, but Arbour’s part of her very distinguished career was to make sure that those who transgressed in the most egregious ways, those rules, norms, standards, were prosecuted and brought to justice. That system… has been greatly weakened,” he said.
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He added that it now must be rebuilt “perhaps in a different way” while remaining based on the same democratic foundations.
Carney named former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour as Canada’s next governor general on Tuesday, with King Charles approving the appointment on his recommendation. Arbour, 79, previously served as the UN chief prosecutor for the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The issue began after Carney addressed the 8th European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, Armenia, where he became the first non-European leader invited to attend the forum. The summit brought together a broader European grouping beyond the EU, and Carney described Europe as a critical base for rebuilding the rules-based international order.
At the summit, Carney said the world was undergoing a rupture across “technology, energy, commerce and geopolitics,” and argued countries were not destined to submit to a “more transactional and insular world.” The comments came amid renewed questions about US commitments to NATO, including President Donald Trump’s announced withdrawal of more than 5,000 troops from Germany and a 25% tariff on cars from the EU.
Carney’s clarification narrowed the meaning of the phrase but did not soften the strategic message. He said Canada, the EU, the UK, Australia, and other countries share “very firm convictions” around democracy, the rule of law, and legal equality, and said those countries “will work together” to rebuild the international system.
He did not name the US in the answer, a rhetorical omission that quickly became the political fight online.
Carney pointed to the EU’s 27 member states and a broader European Political Community grouping of more than 50 countries, saying many either fully support or are “moving towards” the principles Canada wants embedded in the next international order.
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