Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump in Egypt in October.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press

John Ibbitson is a writer and journalist.

Every day, it seems, Donald Trump wields his presidential powers to undermine the Western alliance. Within the past week or so he has threatened new tariffs against Canadian aircraft exports, against South Korea and against any country (but principally Mexico) that sells oil to Cuba.

And of course, there was his threat in January to annex Greenland and to tariff countries that resist that annexation.

As one Korean commentator put it: “Donald Trump is using tariffs like a hammer: not to fix trade imbalances with countries, but to force compliance with what he wants. The message to his allies is clear: fall in line or pay the price.”

Opinion: An old idea for North American trade would be bad for Canada

But Prime Minister Mark Carney is offering an alternative: an alliance of European and Pacific countries, with Canada as the bridge. That is why Mr. Trump was so offended by Mr. Carney’s Davos speech.

The President realizes that Canada is proposing something radically new: The West without the U.S.

To understand exactly what Mr. Carney is proposing, we need to go back a few years. In 2013, under president Barack Obama, the United........

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