Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Paris on Monday to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron, seeking the support of one of Canada’s oldest allies while the president of the United States, Donald Trump, continues to attack the sovereignty and economy of Canada.
This is the first official Forey trip since it swore on March 14. Then he will land in London, where he will sit with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer and King Charles.
Why Paris and London?
Carney has deliberately chosen the two European capital cities that shape the early existence of Canada. During his oath ceremony, he said that the country was built at the base of three, French, English and indigenous peoples, and said that Canada is fundamentally different from the United States and “never, never, in any way, will be part of the United States.”
Since Trump came to office, he has imposed tariffs at all steel and Canadian aluminum and repeatedly commented on converting Canada into state 51, irritating Canadians and causing a call to boycott products throughout the country. He threatens to impose tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2.
On Monday, a senior Canadian government official informed journalists on the plane before picking up Carney in Montreal, saying that the purpose of the trip is to double the associations with London and Paris. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, since he is not allowed to speak publicly, said that Canada is a “good friend of the United States, but we all know what is happening.”
Carney will visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral before meeting with Macron at the Palais de L’Ellsée. However, Macron is not expected to celebrate a joint press conference with Carney, a sign that the French president may not want to bother Trump next to Canada.
Before returning to Ottawa on Tuesday, Carney will travel to Iqaluit to “reaffirm the safety and sovereignty of the Arctic of Canada.”
“The choice of this itinerary for the first official trip of Prime Minister Carney emphasizes the strong connection of Canada with the Arctic, as well as with the two ancient colonial powers to which Canada remains united, through the Commonwealth on the side of the United Kingdom and the Francophonie on the side of France,” said Daniel Beland, Professor of Political Science at McGill University in Montreal.
“The fact that Canada never separated from the United Kingdom violently is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada, a constitutional monarchy instead of a republic that has adopted and retained a parliamentary system in the style of the United Kingdom.”
The trip to London will be a little back home, since Carney became the first non -British governor in the 319 years of history of the Bank of England when he assumed the superior work on July 1, 2013. He served until March 15, 2020.
No Washington trip is planned
Carney, a former central banker who turned 60 on Sunday, said he is ready to meet Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he does not plan to visit Washington at this time, but he hopes to receive a phone call with the president soon. His government is also reviewing the purchase of F-35 combat planes manufactured in the United States in the light of Trump’s commercial war.
Meanwhile, Macron has been increasing efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from US military hardware purchases, which fits with Canada’s rethinking in the F-35 and also coincides with the growing questions and concerns in Europe that European defenses depend too much on the weapons of the United States, technical support and good will.
Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a call on Sunday night and invited him to the G7 summit this summer, which Canada is organizing. Trump said he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday while pressing to end the war in Ukraine.
Carney is expected to call an election for the end of the week, which takes place at the end of April or early May. The Liberal Party had seemed prepared for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared the economic war. Now, the game and its new leader could go on top.
