After visiting China and Qatar in recent days for new trade agreement negotiations, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is currently in Davos, in the Swiss Alps, where the World Economic Forum is being held.
Earlier today, his predecessor Justin Trudeau delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of “soft power,” more crucial than ever in a tense climate, as all eyes are fixed on President Trump, who continually threatens international geopolitical stability. However, he carefully avoided mentioning Trump directly and did not comment on his successor’s mandate to date.
During his address, as his partner, pop superstar Katy Perry, sat in the front row, Trudeau reiterated that Canada will not become the “51st state.”
“Never underestimate the resolve, the motivation and strength of people standing up to defend their sovereignty, their identity, their very existence,” the former prime minister said. “We've seen a backsliding of democracies and democratic values everywhere around the world, including in some of the world's historically strongest democracies”
"The 80 years of stability and prosperity that the world has seen since the end of the horrors of World War Two is over," dramatically declared Trudeau, adding that "that era is done. We are now in a transition period where we are creating the new world we live in."
It bears recalling that Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister in January 2025, after leading the country for nearly a decade. His successor, Mark Carney, was officially elected the following March.
The relationship between Perry and Trudeau began this summer, when the star was in Montreal as part of a world tour. After walking Perry’s dog in the wooded areas of Mount Royal Park, the politician and the pop star shared a meal at the restaurant Le Violon, before ending the evening with cocktails on the rooftop terrace of Taverne Atlantic. Trudeau also appeared to allude to that date during his speech in Davos.
According to The Canadian Press, he recounted the story of having been on a date “with an American girl on a rooftop bar in Montréal” who wanted to order a “Jack & Coke,” before the server explained that there was no American alcohol in the bar, as in most bars across the country. The former prime minister described the situation as an example of “soft power.”
