卡尼直截了当地指出：“我们从来就知道关于国际规则秩序的说辞半真半假，强者总在必要时自我豁免，贸易规则的执行存在双重标准，国际法的适用严宽不一，取决于被告或受害者的身份。”We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and we knew that international law applied with varied rigour, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim）。
卡尼指出，现实是 “大国将经济一体化用作武器，将关税用作杠杆，将金融基础设施用作胁迫工具，将供应链当作可利用的弱点”（great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited）。换句话说，中等国家不要继续幻想还在餐桌上，已经上了菜单了。
另一个现实是：“如果大国对规则和价值观连装也不装、赤裸裸地追求权力和利益的时候，妥协和交易失去了意义”（if great powers abandon even the pretense of rules and values for the unhindered pursuit of their power and interests, the gains from transactionalism will become harder to replicate）。也就是说，中等国家不要继续排着队去从强者那里祈求恩惠，没用的。
卡尼并不隐晦地对加美关系完全重新定位：“加拿大人明白，过去那种认为地理位置和联盟成员身份自动带来繁荣与安全的舒适假设已不再成立”（Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumptions that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security, that assumption is no longer valid）。