Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met the leaders of Britain and France on Monday during his first official overseas trip, seeking support from two of Ottawa’s oldest allies as U.S. President Donald Trump targets Canada’s sovereignty and economy.
Canadians have criticized the leaders of the two countries that founded Canada for their muted response to Trump’s attacks. The president has imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and repeatedly commented on turning Canada into the 51st state.
Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron did not take journalists’ questions, and a joint news conference was not scheduled with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, either. An official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the Canadians proposed a press conference in Paris but the French declined.
Starmer has called Canada a friend and ally of the U.K. but has declined to directly call out Trump’s talk of annexation — though he went further than he has before by stressing Canada’s sovereignty.
“The relationship between our two countries has always been strong,” Starmer told Carney inside the British leader’s 10 Downing St. residence. “Two sovereign allies, so much in common — a shared history, shared values, shared king.”
Carney dismissed the notion that he is seeking the support of other countries to affirm Canada as a nation. “We don’t need another country to validate our sovereignty, we are sovereign,” he said. “We can stand up for ourselves. The disrespect is not helpful and needs to stop before we sit down about a broader partnership.”
Macron did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada ahead of their talks but noted that tariffs only bring inflation and damage to supply chains.
“In the current international context, we want to be able to develop our most strategic projects with our closest, more loyal partners,” Macron said.
In London, Carney was received at Buckingham Palace by King Charles III, Canada’s head of state, before his talks with Starmer. The monarch, wearing a red tie and an Order of Canada lapel pin, congratulated Carney on his recent victory. He was sworn in on Friday.
“Canada is fortunate to have a steadfast defender in our sovereign,” Carney posted on X.
On Tuesday, Carney will travel to the edge of Canada’s Arctic to reaffirm the country’s security and sovereignty.
Why Paris and London?
Carney has chosen the two European capitals that shaped Canada’s early existence. During his swearing-in, he noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous.
He added that Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
“I want to ensure that France, and the whole of Europe, works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries,” Carney said, but vowed to “maintain the most positive relations possible with the United States.”
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said other leaders are “playing it safe” and making sure to avoid gaffes at a time of international tension around Trump’s actions and rhetoric.
Carney’s choice of itinerary emphasizes Canada’s strong connection with the two former colonial powers, Béland said, and noted that “the fact that Canada never broke away from the U.K. in a violent fashion is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada.”
The trip to London was a kind of homecoming. Carney became the first non-British governor in the Bank of England’s 319-year history when he took the job in July 2013. He served until March 2020.
No Washington trip planned
Carney said he won’t sit down with Trump until the U.S. is ready to have a more comprehensive discussion on trade and security. “When the U.S. is ready to have that conversation we’re ready to sit down,” he said.
The prime minister also said Canada is not trying to organize a coordinated retaliation response among countries. He also said there is a limit to what Canada is prepared to do in retaliation given that the U.S. economy is 10 times the size of Canada’s.
Carney also noted the United States, France, the U.K. and Canada and other countries are members of NATO and it would be “unthinkable” for the U.S. to annex Canada through military means.
Carney has said previously that he doesn’t plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon.
His government is also reviewing the purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump’s trade war. Carney said the potential for having more production in Canada is a factor.
Meanwhile, Macron has been increasing efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from purchases of American military hardware. That coincides with mounting concerns in Europe that European defenses are overly dependent on U.S. weaponry, technical support and goodwill.
Macron also touched on the French-British plan for securing any ceasefire in Ukraine, and said that “Canada and France are powers of peace, reliable allies, which will take part together in this effort.” He did not give details.
Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone late Sunday and invited him to the G7 summit this summer that Canada is hosting.
Carney is expected to call a parliamentary election by the end of the week, to take place in late April or early May. Canada’s governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war. Now, the party and its new leader could come out on top.
Source: AP
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