Prime Minister Mark Carney departs Montreal, on route to Paris on March 16.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Two days after being sworn in as Prime Minister and a week before he is expected to call a federal election, Mark Carney has embarked on a short trip to Europe to meet with the leaders of France and England in an effort to strengthen security and trade ties.
Prime Minister Mark Carney in Europe to strengthen ties with France, Britain
The European trip follows Mr. Carney’s first speech after taking office on Friday, in which he said that he and his cabinet would “immediately get to work.” He announced that the government would reduce the consumer carbon levy to zero, effectively ending it, and directed Defence Minister Bill Blair to review Canada’s order of F-35 jets from the U.S., a potential bargaining chip in a trade war launched by President Donald Trump.
Mr. Carney also signalled that key priorities were “creating new trade corridors with reliable partners” and ending interprovincial trade barriers.
“I think the message, subtle or otherwise, is that Canada has good friends around the world. It is also a very good friend of the United States, but we all know what is going on there, and it is evident that we can do more with other countries, not just the United States,” said a senior government official in a briefing to reporters ahead of the trip on Sunday.
“I think that the purpose of the trip is to double down on partnerships with key European countries. It’s early days in the mandate, and he’s going to be, I believe, laying the groundwork for more work to come.”
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The Globe and Mail is not identifying the official, who gave the briefing provided that they not be named.
On Monday, Mr. Carney will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron for a working luncheon, and then later in the afternoon with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He will also have an audience with King Charles. On Tuesday, Mr. Carney will visit Iqaluit before returning to Ottawa that night.
Mr. Carney also used the weekend to quickly establish himself in a new role on the world stage after years of high-profile posts outside the country that made him well-known to global business and political leaders. He was Canada’s central bank governor from 2008 to 2013.
The Prime Minister spoke Saturday with European leaders, including Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr. Carney said in a social-media post that Canada supports the proposal for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and called on Russia “to come to the table in good faith.”
Mr. Zelensky said on X Sunday that he had “a good and substantive conversation with Mr. Carney,” saying he “made the right points about how we need to step up pressure on Moscow.”
Mr. Carney posted that he spoke with Ms. von der Leyen about the ReArm Europe Plan, adding that Canada is “securing new military equipment and working with allies to keep us all safe.”
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The Prime Minister is expected to highlight his key political priorities on the trip, including the need for Canada to reassert its economic and geopolitical ties beyond its fraught relationship with the U.S.
“There is no question there are obviously political purposes at work here, but I think he also will be communicating what his priorities as Prime Minister will be and laying the groundwork for future discussions,” said Roland Paris, director of the University of Ottawa’s school of public and international affairs and foreign policy adviser to former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“It’s like the entire trip is part of a package. To state the obvious: Everything he does in the coming days is partly about positioning himself for the expected election call.”
On Monday, Mr. Carney will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron for a working luncheon, and then later in the afternoon with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
For his first trip as Prime Minister, Mr. Carney isn’t crisscrossing Canada or travelling to the U.S., Canada’s largest trading partner, despite the fact that the trade war is the largest issue facing him.
Mr. Carney has no imminent plans to visit Washington and dismissed talk of Canada’s annexation Friday as “crazy.” But Ottawa’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, said on Fox News Sunday that Mr. Carney looks forward to connecting with Mr. Trump and seeks to “forge a good and solid relationship with the President.” She also said he “respects” Mr. Trump’s determination to enhance the U.S. economy.
“It’s rather shrewd to hold back” visiting Mr. Trump “until frankly there is greater clarity on what the American sanctions policy actually is in terms of timing, sectors and amounts,” said Peter Harder, a senator and former deputy minister of global affairs. He added that Mr. Carney would meet with Mr. Trump at the “appropriate” time.
Mr. Carney left Montreal Sunday evening after sitting down with Quebec Premier François Legault and taking part in the local St. Patrick’s Day parade.
He was scheduled to land in Paris Monday morning, visit Notre-Dame Cathedral, restored after a 2019 fire, then meet Mr. Macron. The two leaders “will focus on their shared commitment to build stronger economic, commercial and defence ties,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Prime Minister Mark Carney greets members of the crowd during the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal, Sunday, March 16, 2025.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
“It’s always a good thing when you’re a diplomat and the PM visits the country where you serve,” said Isabelle Hudon, former Canadian ambassador to France, who now heads Business Development Bank of Canada. “The relationship with France is quite unique and very strong. If we want to keep it that way, we need to take care of that relationship.”
Mr. Carney will then fly to England and meet King Charles Monday afternoon at Buckingham Palace. That evening, Mr. Carney, who was governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, meets with Mr. Starmer, whom he advised when Mr. Starmer ran in the 2024 British election. The two are slated to discuss transatlantic security, strengthening trade relationships and artificial intelligence. Mr. Starmer recently came under fire in Canada and Britain for not defending this country from Mr. Trump’s annexation threats.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on March 14.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Canada had been negotiating a free-trade agreement with Britain after Brexit, but talks broke down last year over agricultural products.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Carney will fly to Iqaluit, where he will meet Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok and members of the Canadian Rangers who patrol the territories.
Mr. Harder said the trip sends the “message that Canada has a broader role in the world than just a bilateral role with the U.S. … We’re not just a one-trick relationship here. We are a global player.”
The mention of defence as a topic of Monday’s bilateral discussions follows one of Mr. Carney’s first moves as Prime Minister: asking for a review of Canada’s plan to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from American defence giant Lockheed Martin Corp. Ottawa has not cancelled the contract and he is legally committed to buying the first 16 planes.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan said the Trudeau government had “played politics” over replacing the country’s dated CF-18 jets and “our Royal Canadian Air Force should have had new fighter jets by now.”
But he echoed the government, saying if the U.S. administration “continues to demonstrate that it is an unreliable partner and ally, then Canada will need to look for other options when it comes to defence purchases for the Canadian Armed Forces.
With reports from Robert Fife, Stephanie Levitz and The Canadian Press