Paris:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that his country was seeking to reinforce ties with “reliable” European allies, as he embarked on a transatlantic trip after his country’s economy and even sovereignty came under unprecedented threat from its southern neighbour the United States.
Carney, the former Bank of England governor who succeeded Justin Trudeau last week, conspicuously chose key Europe powers France and the United Kingdom, rather than the United States, for his first foreign visits after President Donald Trump ramped up the rhetoric against Canada.
Describing Canada as the “most European of non-European countries”, Carney said his nation needed to boost ties with European allies like France while trying to retain positive relations with the United States.
“It is more important than ever for Canada to reinforce its ties with reliable allies like France,” Carney said during a press conference with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on his first trip abroad since becoming prime minister on Friday.
“I want to ensure that France and the whole of Europe works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, determined like you to maintain the most positive possible relations with the United States,” Carney said.
Carney faces threats on three fronts: a trade war with the Washington, Trump’s threats to annex his country, and looming domestic elections.
Trump’s imposition of an escalating raft of import tariffs on Canadian goods has threatened to trigger a recession, and his scorn for Canadian sovereignty sent jitters through the former ally.
Opinion polls show a large majority of Canadian voters reject Trump’s argument that their country would be better off as the “51st state of the United States”.
But the trade war is a threat to the economy of the vast country of 41 million people, which has long enjoyed a close US partnership.
‘Security and sovereignty’
Canada, France and Britain are among the NATO members that have maintained strong support for Ukraine’s beleaguered government and military since Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022, even as Trump’s US administration has bullied Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow.
London and Paris are putting together plans for a coalition security force in Ukraine and looking for allies.
Canada and France want a “solid and lasting peace, accompanied by robust guarantees that will protect Ukraine against any further Russian aggression and ensure the security of the whole of Europe,” Macron said alongside Carney.
“It is in this spirit that we will maintain our support for Ukraine and continue to demand clear commitments from Russia,” he added.
Carney told Macron both nations stood for “sovereignty”.
“We both stand for sovereignty and security demonstrated by our unwavering support for Ukraine under your leadership,” the Canadian premier said, two days after both leaders took part in a Saturday morning video conference of countries backing Ukraine organised by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
France is Canada’s 11th-largest trading partner and Britain its third at a time when Trump’s tariffs and Canadian retaliatory measures are threatening trade with its huge southern neighbour — destination of three-quarters of Canada’s exports.
But Canada also has a “Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement” with the European Union, which includes France, and is a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which now also includes Britain.
After Paris, Carney heads for London, where he once worked as governor of the Bank Of England, for talks with Starmer and King Charles III, the monarch who is head of state in both Britain and Canada.
In his first speech as prime minister, Carney said: “Security is a priority for this government, reinforcing our security, as is diversifying our trading and commercial relationships, of course, with both Europe and the United Kingdom.”
On his return leg, Carney will touch down in Iqaluit in Nunavut, the Canadian territory closest to the Danish autonomous country of Greenland — another Trump target for annexation — to “reaffirm Canada’s Arctic security and sovereignty”.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)