Canada advancing new global partnerships at UN, Ambassador says

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations says Prime Minister Mark Carney is already putting his vision of building stronger partnerships among middle powers into action through new international collaborations.

Speaking about Canada’s evolving foreign policy, Ambassador David Lametti said the country is developing flexible relationships with a range of nations to address specific global challenges.

“We have set up a number of different kinds of relationships that work for specific issues,” Lametti said. “That’s precisely the manner in which I think Prime Minister Carney has envisaged this.”

Carney first outlined the concept during a speech at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos this January, where he called on middle powers to work more closely together to protect their interests and reduce dependence on global superpowers.

The Prime Minister has promoted what he describes as a policy of “variable geometry,” aimed at reshaping Canada’s foreign policy beyond its traditional alliances.

Under the approach, Canada seeks to build dynamic, overlapping and pragmatic coalitions with countries that share common interests—and, where possible, common values—rather than relying solely on long-standing international institutions.