What is the British government doing to support Canada? It is one of our closest allies. Our relationship with Canada is more special than that with the US. King Charles is their head of state. Canada is a fellow member of NATO, the G7, Five Eyes, the Commonwealth and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

This question should be asked on the floor of the House of Commons. And the person to ask it is Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. He has made his opposition to President Donald Trump crystal clear. The US-Canada trade war is an opportunity to translate opposition rhetoric into specific policies.

But he should be prepared for the answer which is a lot of waffle which will amount to – nothing.

And where is the rest of the world? Since becoming Canada’s Prime Minister, Carney has made 23 foreign trips to 29 countries. Almost all of them to promote his vision of a powerful new bloc of “Middle Powers” who can provide a collective bargaining front to the US and China. In a few weeks he will address the European Parliament.

Everywhere Carney has gone he has been given a sympathetic hearing and important agreements have been signed with the UK, the EU, Japan and Australia. But there is no sign that Canada’s friends are prepared to translate their sympathy into meaningful support in its confrontation with Trump.

The rest of the world is simply frightened of the mercurial American president. If they explicitly back Carney then they run the risk of retaliation from Trump, and virtually all of Carney’s allies are also allies of the US and dependent on the American nuclear umbrella for their ultimate security.

But they don’t need to explicitly join a retaliation against the US. The American political equation is about to dramatically change with the mid-term elections. The Democrats are strongly favoured  to win control of the House of Representatives and have a chance of also securing a majority in the Senate. The latest forecasts give the Democrats an 87 percent chance of winning control of the lower chamber and a 55 percent chance of doing the same in the upper chamber. Trump’s tariffs against Canada—in fact Trump himself—are deeply unpopular and a political shift in Congress is likely to mean the end of tariffs against Canada and personal problems for the president.

Carney’s supporters in Asia and Europe don’t need to join his trade war per se. They could show support for accelerating trade agreements; increasing purchases of Canadian goods; offer investment; coordinate critical mineral deals and increase defence procurement cooperation. The framework for the above has already been established by Carney’s diplomacy. It just needs to be activated.

If it is then that would be a giant step towards establishing Carney’s vision of a network of countries and organisations representing 1.5 billion people. This would give members of the network collective bargaining power in any negotiations with the US and China.

In Carney’s vision there is no need for a central body like the EU, BRICS or NATO. In fact, their interests don’t have to coincide in every instance. But they can cooperate where their interests overlap—a diplomatic Venn diagram.

It could look something like this: Britain–France–EU: European security and potentially nuclear deterrence. Britain–Canada–Australia–New Zealand: Commonwealth/Five Eyes connections. Britain–Canada–Japan–Australia: CPTPP and Indo-Pacific trade. Canada–EU: trade, defence procurement and strategic autonomy. Japan–South Korea–Australia: Asian security and technology. France–Canada–Britain: defence, nuclear technology, AI and critical minerals.

The countries in the circles change according to the problem. The overlap is the source of power.

For 80 years, middle powers have largely dealt with overwhelming American power by ensuring that America remained benevolent. Carney’s proposition is subtly different: remain America’s friend, but build enough relationships among yourselves that you aren’t dependent upon America remaining benevolent.

Carney’s vision does not mean that Britain or any other country should become anti-American. Britain does not have to choose Canada instead of America. In Carney’s vision Britain shouldn’t have to choose.

The current tit-for-tat US-Canada tariff war is a test case for Carney’s vision. Britain could take the lead and announce practical measures to support Canada without joining its tariff retaliation against the United States. Trump might object—perhaps vehemently—but supporting one close ally need not constitute an attack on another.

If Britain acts, it could encourage others to follow, and the first lines of Carney’s diplomatic Venn diagram will have been drawn. If Britain—and the rest of the world—continue to remain silent, then Carney’s diplomatic vision remains just that: an unfulfilled dream.

* Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He also contributes to “The New World” magazine and lectures on world affairs. He is the author of “America Made in Britain,” two editions of “The Encyclopaedia of the Cold War” and “The Falklands Crisis.”