National Citizens Coalition Responds to Prime Minister Carney's WEF Remarks: 'More Davos Rhetoric Over Reality'
January 21, 2026 – The National Citizens Coalition today issued a measured critique of Prime Minister Mark Carney's address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he invoked Václav Havel's metaphor of the greengrocer's sign to declare it's "time to take our signs down." While Carney's soaring rhetoric about abandoning illusions of a rules-based international order will resonate with many, particularly the champagne-sipping elites in Davos and even some elite Conservatives, it conveniently sidesteps the Liberal government's own culpability in Canada's domestic and international woes. Who put up those signs in the first place? It was the Liberals themselves, propping up failed policies that have eroded our economy and fractured social cohesion for over a decade.
Carney's speech, delivered to friends and allies, but also the billionaires and lobbyists who joined in the deconstruction and de-growth efforts of the last decade-plus, paints a picture of a world ruptured by "great powers" like the U.S. under President Trump, urging middle powers to forge new alliances, deploying a plethora of platitudes we've heard before.
He also misappropriates Havel's powerful essay "The Power of the Powerless," which critiqued the soul-crushing conformity of communist regimes, to lament the end of a post-WWII order.
Havel's greengrocer hung the sign "Workers of the world, unite!" not out of belief, but fear of reprisal, sustaining a totalitarian system. Carney flips this on its head, suggesting countries like Canada have been deluding themselves about international rules. But in truth, it's the Liberal elite who've been hanging signs of virtue-signalling while ignoring the rot at home.
This plays perfectly to the WEF crowd of billionaires and bureaucrats who applaud abstract calls for "honesty" and "new world orders" without demanding accountability of themselves.
Many might nod along, seeing Carney's banker pedigree as a bridge to power, and his demeanour as something that's calming and more familiar. Yet, where is the admission of the Liberals' role in Canada's decline? Since 2015, under Trudeau and now Carney (who also served as a key advisor under Trudeau), deficit spending has ballooned, fuelling inflation that's hammered everyday families.
Make no mistake, Trump's recent actions demand a stern response. And yet, carbon taxes, regulatory overreach, mass immigration, legalized disorder, and identity politics have divided communities, stifled resource development, and driven up costs for everything from groceries to housing. Carney's words offer no relief for the "little guy" facing rising costs today. Inflation remains stubborn, energy bills soar due to green mandates, and supply chain "ruptures" he decries are worsened by his government's inaction on trade diversification.
Soaring rhetoric is one thing, misappropriating Havel to justify pivoting away from U.S. ties -- without concrete plans -- is another. Havel advocated quiet resistance through truth-telling and civic action, not elite forums, and certainly not cozying up to China and Qatar.
Action is what Canada needs: ending the Liberal gun seizure, tax cuts, deregulation, energy independence, jobs and housing for Canadians, functioning healthcare, a return to responsible immigration, reinvestment in the Canadian Forces and the end of its woke excess, and policies that unite rather than divide.
The NCC calls on Canadians to demand real change, to be wary of an ever-shifting geopolitical picture, but also to tear down the Liberal signs of complacency and build a nation that works for all, not just the global elite. We've already spent a decade governing for Davos, look where it's gotten us.
The National Citizens Coalition is a Canadian legacy non-profit organization dedicated to promoting free enterprise, individual freedom, and accountable government in Canada.
NCC Director Alexander Brown is available for comment: [email protected].
-30-