Carney stresses Canada's relations with UK, France

Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney has made a point of stressing his country's cultural ties with Europe after visiting Paris and London on his first overseas trip as national leader.

In a speech made alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who called Canada "a unique friend", and delivered both in French and English, Carney said it was vital for his country to strengthen ties with "reliable allies", calling Canada "the most European of non-European countries".

He also stressed the importance of maintaining "the most positive possible relations with the United States" in light of US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs against his country, and the comments about Canada becoming the 51st state of the US.

From Paris, Carney then flew to London, where he was previously governor of the central bank the Bank of England, and had a 30-minute private conversation with King Charles, who, as leader of the Commonwealth, is Canada's head of state, before being greeted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street.

Carney said the relationship between the United Kingdom and Canada was "built on shared values" and that "we're at a point in history where the world is being reordered", with Starmer adding that "the relationship between our two countries has always been strong", with "so much in common — a shared history, shared values".

An unnamed Canadian government official was quoted by the Guardian newspaper as saying that the destination of Carney's first overseas trip as leader had been chosen to strengthen ties with Canada's two founding countries, adding that Canada was a "good friend of the United States, but we all know what is going on".

At his swearing-in ceremony as prime minister last week, Carney said how Canada was founded on the bedrock of three peoples: the French, the English and Indigenous people, and that it was fundamentally different from the US and will "never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States".

Speaking to reporters in London, Carney called Trump's comments "disrespectful" and "not helpful", and said he would not be meeting him until his tone changed.

"It will have to stop before we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States," he added. "We're Canada, we don't need other people to come to our aid."

Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus in political science at the University of Toronto, put it bluntly. "The Trump factor is the reason for the trip," he said. "The Trump factor towers over everything else Carney must deal with".

Canada must have a general election no later than October this year, and Trump's recent intervention could turn out to be a decisive factor.

The governing Liberal Party was widely thought to be facing defeat, but recent surveys have shown a sharp rise in its support, while the Conservative Party of Canada has seen its polling lead slump.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com