Leadership lessons for Ruto from Canadian Prime Minister Carney

Last week, this column penned off with a statement that there would be interesting times ahead for the global economic order. That future seems to be taking shape faster than anyone would have imagined. Post-Davos 2026, one man appears to have taken centre stage in reshaping the conversation on the new global order.

He fired not a single bullet nor mentioned any specific name, but simply delivered a seventeen-minute and ten-second speech at Davos. This was followed by a thirteen-minute interview, totalling just thirty minutes and two seconds. Like his speech last week, his official biography is extremely short, despite a list of accomplishments that many leaders around the world can only dream of.

Our man of interest this week is Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, elected into office on March 9, 2025. From his academic and professional background, he was no stranger to Davos. The only thing that may have made the difference this year was that he was there not as a banker, but as the leader of the world’s tenth-largest economy, according to IMF rankings for 2025.

His session had been slotted for only thirty minutes in the late afternoon. Yet he both stole the show and owned it. President Trump’s appearance the following day failed to mitigate the impact of Carney’s carefully chosen words, which appear to have reverberated deep into Washington’s sanctums of power. On Monday this week, Washington reached out to Ottawa, likely in an attempt to mend fences.

While there are emerging divergent versions in the media regarding the tone between the two leaders, what is clear is that the rupture Carney spoke of in Davos is not only real, but is also sweeping across global markets first. When Carney said Canada would not bow to US bullying in response to Trump’s tariffs last year, many people likely did not take him seriously.

This is because the Canadian economy is relatively small compared to that of the US, and the two economies are highly integrated. However, the Canadian leader quietly moved to seek new markets in China and the Middle East, and prepared for the upcoming review of the tripartite trade agreement among the US, Canada and Mexico later this year.

At its current projected gross domestic product of US$2.28 trillion, Canada would rank below California, Texas and New York State in size. President Trump had previously chided that Canada should become another US state. With the unfolding drama and Carney gaining popularity at home, there is little doubt that interesting times lie ahead.

Of interest for this column today are the following questions: what lessons can Kenya and President Ruto draw from Carney, and why should Kenya be interested in the ongoing shifts in relations between the US and Canada?

For context, President Ruto has not made any official visit to Ottawa despite his many international engagements. However, there are online traces indicating that he has held talks with both former and current Canadian leaders on the sidelines of other travels. Trade flows between the two countries remain relatively small. 2024 data project that Kenya’s imports from Canada stood at about Sh14.2 billion (US$110.8 million), mainly comprising aircraft, wheat, machinery and paper products. Kenya’s exports to Canada in the same year were estimated at Sh2.5 billion (US$19.7 million), with the main products being coffee, tea, spices and knitted clothing.

The first lesson for President Ruto from Ottawa is that actions, not speeches, always win on the global stage. In September 2022, when he appeared on the international stage at the UN General Assembly, he sought to assert himself as a new voice of change for the so-called Global South, particularly the African continent.

This was followed by several calls to reform multilateral institutions, criticising the West while in Asia, yet never missing an opportunity to dine with the same Western leaders he accused of perpetuating global trade and financial inequalities.

At Davos, Carney never mentioned any leader by name. Instead, he criticised President Trump’s weaponisation of trade integration, the abuse of America’s military power, and threats to the sovereignty of other nations through tariff wars. He invited other mid-level developed economies to partner with Canada in charting alternative trade and financial systems to mitigate against US hegemony. He then proceeded to highlight the trade agreements and partnerships Canada has secured over the past ten months to diversify its economy and create new opportunities for both Canadian businesses and international investors.

Lesson number two is that timing matters greatly in global engagements. The choice of audience for Carney to confront President Trump’s excesses was strategic. As alluded to in last week’s article, the World Economic Forum is an annual congregation of the global economic elite. In effect, the world economy was at the table. As both a long-time insider of the forum and now a national leader, he made his message simple and clear.

He spoke before President Trump was scheduled to address the forum the following day. The aftermath of his thirty minutes was that the US leader appeared to be chasing his own shadow. While it is too early to predict what will ultimately follow, what is beyond doubt is that Carney earned many allies and created momentum to push his agenda for a new global economic order.

Lesson number three is that trust and confidence are earned through mastery of one’s craft, not the boasting of academic credentials. To the chagrin of many, President Ruto has projected the image that his academic papers alone should be reason enough for Kenyans to trust his ideas and believe he cannot fail in his vision for the country. From this standpoint, any alternative voice or idea is dismissed as lacking knowledge or understanding.

In his brief address at Davos, Carney left no doubt that he is a master of his craft. Before him sat owners of capital, leaders of developed and developing economies, academics and researchers, civil society actors and community leaders.

Yet, as the session moderator noted, it is rare for any speaker to receive a standing ovation at Davos. Carney simply deployed his rich academic background, earned from elite universities, and his industry experience for maximum impact.

He steered the Canadian economy through the 2007–08 global financial crisis as Governor of the Bank of Canada. Later, the UK turned to him to navigate its economy through Brexit and its aftermath, before the UN appointed him as its Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance. Notably, he carries no scandal baggage despite having served as a public official for most of his career. This is why President Trump and other leaders understand that Carney’s sentiments are not a passing cloud, but a serious invitation to mid-level economies to reduce over-reliance on the American-led order.

Finally, President Ruto and Kenya need to review diplomatic engagements to align with the shifting global order. Theoretically, US dominance in global affairs will not disappear entirely due to its military and financial power. However, experts project that the world is entering an era of multiple global currencies, decentralised power and a digital economy embedded in data and technology.

This is what economists describe as either a bipolar or multipolar world economic order.