Why Carney and Poilievre are each going global

Feb 28, 2026

Anne-Marie Slaughter, former U.S. State Department director and New America CEO, offers expertise on middle-power diplomacy and global balance. Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and Summa Strategies vice chair, analyzes Pierre Poilievre’s European trip and messaging. They discuss Carney’s outreach to India, Japan and Australia, tensions with the U.S. and strategies for diversified international partnerships.

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INSIGHT

U.S. Role Has Become Transactional Not Multilateral

Anne-Marie Slaughter argues Donald Trump transformed the U.S. from multilateral architect to transactional, America-first actor.
She contrasts Trump's 'America First' seesaw with Biden's prior 'America is back' multilateral framing, implying structural instability.

INSIGHT

Middle Powers Can Form A Real Economic Bloc

Mark Carney's Davos framing invites middle powers to build a values-based counterweight to great powers.
Anne-Marie Slaughter highlights a coalition (EU, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc.) representing 42% of world GDP as a realistic bloc for influence.

ADVICE

Turn Speeches Into Sustained Diplomatic Coalitions

Keep diplomatic follow-through after speeches; rhetoric needs concrete coalitions and hard diplomacy to matter.
Slaughter urges Carney to convert Davos talk into sustained negotiation and coalition-building against authoritarian moves.

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Two leaders, two visions, two itineraries. Prime Minister Mark Carney is once again travelling abroad to strengthen Canada's trading relationships with fellow middle powers like India, Japan and Australia. How much sway does Canada hold in this new geopolitical era? Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Obama-era senior U.S. State Department director, joins The House to weigh in on this middle-power moment.

And Pierre Poilievre is headed to Europe in his first official overseas trip as Leader of the Opposition, following a speech that laid out the Conservative vision for tackling a protectionist United States. Political insiders Marci Surkes and Kate Harrison take a look at both big trips, and the stakes for both parties.

Next: OpenAI was the focus of intense scrutiny this week after it was revealed the ChatGPT developer did not inform police about troubling content from an online account belonging to the Tumbler Ridge shooter. The House checks in with The Logic’s Murad Hemmadi about whether big tech companies can be trusted to regulate themselves.

Then, as the world's youngest generations are set to bear the brunt of today's decisions, some governments around the world are taking steps to ensure they have a champion — and Canadian advocates want Ottawa to do the same. House producer Benjamin Lopez Steven speaks with Wales' Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker, as well as Paul Kershaw of Generation Squeeze, Ontario Senator Rosemary Moodie and a classroom of Grade 8 students about whether the Welsh model could work in Canada.

And as Russia’s war on Ukraine grinds on, and peace talks remain deadlocked, Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc speaks with guest host Tom Parry about a difficult winter in Kyiv and the horrors she’s heard on the ground from Ukrainians.

This episode features the voices of:

Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of think tank New America and former senior official at the U.S. State Department
Marci Surkes, former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose
Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies
Murad Hemmadi, AI reporter for The Logic
Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Katie Richmyre, Grade 8 teacher at St. Mother Teresa High School
Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze
Senator Rosemary Moodie
Natalka Cmoc, Canada's ambassador to Ukraine