New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday arrived in Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, seeking support from one of Canada’s oldest allies as US President Donald Trump continues to attack Canada’s sovereignty and economy.
This is Carney’s first official foreign trip since he was sworn in on Friday. He is to land next in London, where he is to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, the head of state in Canada.
Carney has deliberately chosen the two European capital cities that shaped Canada’s early existence. During his swearing-in ceremony, he noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English and Indigenous, and said Canada is fundamentally different from the US and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
Photo: Reuters
Since Trump came to office, he has imposed whopping tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and repeatedly commented on turning Canada into the 51st state, infuriating Canadians and sparking a call to boycott US products across the nation. He is threatening to impose tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2.
A senior Canadian government official yesterday briefed reporters on the plane before picking up Carney in Montreal, saying the purpose of the trip is to double down on partnerships with London and Paris.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to speak publicly, said Canada is a “good friend of the United States, but we all know what is going on.”
Carney yesterday visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral before meeting with Macron at the Palais de l’Elysee. However, Macron was not expected to hold a joint news conference with Carney, a sign the French president might not want to upset Trump by siding with Canada.
Before returning to Ottawa today, Carney is to travel to the edge of Canada’s Arctic to “reaffirm Canada’s Arctic security and sovereignty.”
“The choice of this itinerary for Prime Minister Carney’s first official trip emphasizes the strong connection of Canada with the Arctic as well as with the two former colonial powers Canada remains attached to, through the Commonwealth on the UK side and La Francophonie on the France side,” said Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.
“The fact that Canada never broke away from the UK in a violent fashion is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada, a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic that has adopted and retained a UK-style parliamentary system,” he said.
The trip to London would be a bit of a homecoming, as Carney became the first non-British governor in the Bank of England’s 319-year history when he took over the top job on July 1, 2013. He served until March 15, 2020.
Carney, a former central banker who turned 60 on Sunday, has said he us ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he does not 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 US-made F-35 jets in light of Trump’s trade war.
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