One year ago, almost exactly, in my post Unintended Consequences (3 June 2025), I commented on frequent discussions I have had over the years with senior foreign officers. Living so close to the US, and being constantly influenced by the American obsession with “national security” (even before the tragedy of 9/11), it is easy to forget that Canadians do not necessarily share this obsession. In that post, I mentioned that the discussions would inevitably conclude that national leaders broke into two different, broad categories. They saw their primary duties either as:

Keeping the country safe; or

Endeavouring to improve the lives of the people you lead.

I was once again struck, over the weekend, by a speech by Prime Minister Mark Carney. The speech was interesting in a variety of ways. It was delivered by a Canadian PM at one of the world’s great universities, Trinity College, in Dublin’s city centre, where he delivered the inaugural John de Chastelain Public Lecture in honour of the former RMC graduate and Chief of the Canadian Defence Staff who the university has recognized for the work he did in ending the Irish conflict. I am at a loss to find another instance of a Canadian PM honouring a Canadian general.

Carney is the current leader of the G7 and looking ahead to Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) beginning next month, the Irish and Canadian leaders recognized the strategic importance of the Canada-EU partnership and discussed ongoing efforts to continue to deepen the relationship with both Ireland (Carney’s ancestral home) and the EU, with which Canada has a unique and strengthening bond.

PM Carney’s speech was both short and impactful, and particularly struck me because although he touched upon sovereignty and defence, it was almost in passing. His speech built upon his now-famous speech from Davos, Switzerland and although he continued the theme of “international rupture” he offered a more positive and encouraging path forward that highlighted the shared values and worldview held by Canada and Ireland. He suggested that in a breakdown of the rules-based international order, strategic autonomy and modern sovereignty needed perhaps to be redefined and drawing an analogy with how Irish monks had safeguarded Western values during the Dark Ages in Europe, he posited that the strong bond between the two nations could perform a similar function but this time for the entire world.

Canada, like many nations, is the midst of a military spending bonanza. In our case, we have not seen anything like it since we mobilized for the Second World War. The PM could easily have pivoted to that subject and how much of that spending was being focused on European weapons, industry, and finance. But he didn’t. He made only the merest mention of it. Instead, he referred to our investment and partnership priorities, to Canada’s belief that Middle Power cooperation could be the foundation of hitherto unrealized security — with or without the agreement of the US — a country he did not mention by name.

Our PM was clear. Canada was doing what it was not to gain ascendency over any geographic, economic or political space. No. On the contrary, our national objectives were chosen so that not only we Canadians would benefit, but that all who joined with us in creating a new rules-based, trade-oriented world order would benefit equally. He remined his Irish audience that their shared history produced a transatlantic worldview rooted in connection, shared prosperity, stewardship, and obligations across generations. That Canada’s values of sustainability, inclusivity, and dignity were shared with Ireland and with Europe. Both Canada and Ireland see strong economies not as ends in themselves, but as tools for building just societies where people are protected, free, and able to thrive.

His message was clear and only tangentially about security. As our national leader he saw his function as being a force for good. To guide Canada on a third path, as it worked with like-minded partners to build a more humane, more deeply connected, economically powerful, culturally influential world. One capable of acting together as a force for human rights, dignity, pluralism, and a multipolar future not just for Canada, but for all peoples.