Canada’s new PM Carney hails 'reliable allies' after meeting with Macron

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday to seek alliances as he deals with US President Donald Trump's attacks on Canada's sovereignty and economy. He will next head to London where he will sit down with UK 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 America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States”.

“I want to ensure that France, and the whole of Europe, works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, and at the same time resolutely North American, determined, like you, to maintain the most positive relations possible with the United States,” Carney said Monday, standing next to Macron. 

Macron and Carney appeared in front of reporters before the talks but did not take questions, a sign the French president might not want to upset Trump by siding with Canada.

Replay: Canadian PM Mark Carney's speech in Paris

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Macron said tariffs only bring inflation but did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada. 

“We both believe that fair trade which respects international rules is a good thing for the prosperity of everyone and is certainly more effective than tariffs, which create inflation and damage supply chains and our economic integration,” Macron said.

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 country. He is threatening to impose tariffs on all Canadian products on April 2. 

Carney visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral before meeting with Macron at the Palais de l’Élysée. Macron did recall Canada’s soldiers who fought in France in both world wars.

“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 Béland, 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.”

'Unwavering' support for Ukraine

The trip to London will 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’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn’t 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 fighter jets in light of Trump’s trade war. 

Meanwhile, Macron has been ramping up efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from purchases of American military hardware, which dovetails with Canada’s rethink on F-35s and also coincides with mounting questions and concerns in Europe that European defences are overly dependent on US weaponry, technical support and goodwill.

Macron touched on the French-British plan for securing any ceasefire in Ukraine, saying that France and Canada would carry on supporting Kyiv and "continue to demand clear commitments from Russia" towards implementing lasting peace in the Ukraine and ensuring "the security of the whole of Europe". 

"This common commitment at the side of the Ukrainians has always aimed for a peace that is solid and lasting," Macron said. "Canada and France are powers of peace, reliable allies, which will take part together in this effort.”

Carney said both Canada and France stood for "sovereignty".

“We both stand for sovereignty and security demonstrated by our unwavering support for Ukraine under your leadership," the Canadian premier told Macron, two days after both leaders took part in a Saturday morning video conference of countries backing Ukraine organised by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Carney spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a call late Sunday and invited him to the G7 summit this summer, which Canada is hosting. Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine.

Carney is expected to call an election by the end of the week, to take place in late April or early May. Canada's governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war. Now, the party and its new leader could come out on top.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP)