As the trade spat with the US grows, the new PM is keen to keep partnerships strong
With little movement in trade negotiations between Canada and the US, the new Canadian prime minister is keen to bolster long-standing ties in Europe.
Mark Carney, sworn in as PM last week, has wasted no time in heading to meet the leaders of the UK and France, key trading partners overseas, to shore up economic and security partnerships, and trade that is worth tens of billions of dollars. The countries are all members of the G7 and NATO and all facing the impact of US tariffs.
In London, Carney will meet with British equivalent Keir Starmer and King Charles. The two PMs will discuss security, the potential in growing the AI sector in both countries, and how bilateral trade can be enhanced via the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, signed post-Brexit, and the CPTTP which the UK joined in 2023.
Canada’s trade with the UK totals around $61 billion, making the UK Canada's third-largest single-country trading partner for goods and services in 2024. Of the 3,500 Canadian businesses that export to the UK, 93% are small and medium sized businesses according to Ottawa’s stats. Many of these businesses are facing severe consequences of the imposition of tariffs on both sides of the Canada-US border.
In Paris, Carney will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and discuss trade using the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as a foundation. The agreement was signed in 2016 and was provisionally applied in 2017, boosting trade by 60% in the years since. In 2024, France was Canada's third-largest merchandise trading partner in the EU and its 11th-largest trading partner globally, with two-way merchandise trade totalling $14.2 billion.
There will be a third important visit by Carney on his return from Europe. The prime minister will head to Iqaluit, Nunavut to reassert Canada's sovereignty in the Arctic. The region is central to Canada's national identity, prosperity, and security.
"Canada was built upon a union of peoples – Indigenous, French, and British,” Carney said. “My visit to France and the United Kingdom will strengthen trade, commercial, and defence ties with two of our strongest and most reliable partners, and my visit to Nunavut will be an opportunity to bolster Canada's Arctic sovereignty and security, and our plan to unlock the North's full economic
