Mark Carney’s speech at Davos sent shockwaves through financial markets as Canada’s Prime Minister delivered what many observers are calling one of the most consequential addresses by a world leader in recent decades, and right now the impact is still being felt. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2026, Carney warned about the accelerating decline of dollar dominance and also the rising influence of BRICS nations pursuing what various major financial authorities have described as strategic alternatives. His message was clear and, at the time of writing, the rules-based international order has catalyzed numerous significant shifts in real time.
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Mark Carney Davos Highlights Dollar Risks And BRICS De-Dollarization
The Rupture in Global Order
At the World Economic Forum, Mark Carney didn’t mince words when describing what he sees as the current geopolitical reality, and his assessment was unusually blunt. The rupture in the global order isn’t something that might happen—it’s already underway, and the Canadian leader made that abundantly clear as he delivered his address through several key observations. Carney stated:
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration.”
He went further, warning that great powers now deploy economic integration as a weapon rather than mutual benefit, using tariffs as leverage and also wielding financial infrastructure as coercion across various major international channels. This reality has accelerated BRICS de-dollarization strategies, and at the time of writing, the Reserve Bank of India has formally proposed to link Central Bank digital currencies across BRICS nations for the 2026 summit agenda through numerous significant policy frameworks.
BRICS: Significant Momentum
The timing of Mark Carney’s Davos speech aligns with significant momentum that BRICS members are building across several key economic sectors. Under India’s 2026 chairmanship, the bloc has shifted from theoretical discussion to proposing concrete technical infrastructure, and this transition has catalyzed multiple essential developments. The Reserve Bank of India has recommended that BRICS countries connect their Central Bank digital currencies, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, and such an initiative represents a transformative approach. India plans to place this proposal on the agenda of the 2026 BRICS summit, which the country will host later this year through various major diplomatic channels.
RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar stated:
“CBDCs do not pose many of the risks associated with stablecoins. Beyond the facilitation of illicit payments and circumvention of control measures, stablecoins raise significant concerns for monetary stability, fiscal policy, banking intermediation and systemic resilience.”
BRICS Expands Payment Infrastructure
The expanded BRICS bloc, often referred to as BRICS-10 right now, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and also Indonesia. This grouping controls approximately 37% of global GDP and also 46% of the world’s population through various major economic partnerships. The BRICS de-dollarization push has spearheaded real traction, with BRICS Pay entering advanced pilot stages in late 2025 and early 2026, offering what members see as an alternative to the Western-led SWIFT system across several key financial networks.
President Donald Trump has responded to these efforts with threats of 100% tariffs on BRICS nations pursuing alternatives to the US dollar, and such warnings have escalated significantly. He has previously called the alliance “anti-American,” and the warnings from Washington have catalyzed numerous significant concerns among bloc members. Yet India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar clarified the bloc’s position back in March 2025, stating:
“I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar. The dollar as the reserve currency is the source of global economic stability, and right now what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less.”
Middle Powers Chart New Course
Mark Carney’s message at Davos emphasized that middle powers face a fundamental choice between competing for favor from hegemons or combining to create what he called “a third path,” and this decision will shape international relations. When discussing bilateral negotiations with great powers through several key diplomatic channels, Carney stated:
“When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating. This is not sovereignty. It is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination.”
Canada has been moving quickly under Carney’s leadership, and the pace has accelerated various major strategic initiatives. His government has signed 12 trade and security deals across four continents in just six months and also concluded strategic partnerships with China and Qatar through numerous significant negotiations. The country has engineered a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU and is currently negotiating free trade pacts with India, ASEAN, Thailand, Philippines, and also Mercosur across multiple essential economic sectors.
Technical Challenges and Gold Reserves
The BRICS US dollar diversification strategy has been gaining ground on multiple fronts, and right now the momentum continues to build. Gold reserves have reached historic highs in early 2026, surpassing $4,600 per ounce, partly driven by BRICS central banks diversifying their reserves away from the US dollar across various major financial instruments. This move reflects broader concerns about what Carney and others see as the weaponization of the dollar in geopolitical conflicts through several key mechanisms.
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On the technical side, discussions around linking BRICS Central Bank digital currencies would need to address interoperability of technology, governance frameworks, and also mechanisms to settle trade imbalances, according to sources familiar with the matter. One option under consideration has catalyzed the use of bilateral foreign exchange swap arrangements between central banks to manage uneven trade flows, with periodic settlements proposed on a weekly or monthly basis across numerous significant transaction channels.
Canada’s Strategic Shift
Mark Carney emphasized Canada’s shift to what he called “value-based realism”—being principled in commitments to sovereignty and human rights while pragmatic in recognizing that interests diverge and that not every partner will share all values across various major policy areas. He stated:
“We actively take on the world as it is, not wait around for a world we wish to be. We are no longer relying on just the strength of our values, but also on the value of our strength.”
Since taking office, Carney’s government has doubled defense spending, removed all federal barriers to interprovincial trade, and is fast-tracking a trillion dollars in infrastructure investments through several key strategic initiatives. The conclusion of his Davos speech was unambiguous, and the message has revolutionized how middle powers approach global engagement. Carney stated:
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger and more just.”
Whether this vision of coordinated action among middle powers can counterbalance great power rivalry remains to be seen right now. What’s clear from Mark Carney’s appearance at Davos is that traditional Western allies are rethinking their place in what he described as a fractured global order, and BRICS de-dollarization efforts are being taken seriously by policymakers who once dismissed them as unrealistic across multiple essential diplomatic channels.