Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, in Ottawa on Saturday. This meeting precedes the G7 summit, hosted by Carney in Alberta, beginning Sunday.
This will be the first in-person gathering of world leaders since the recent Israeli strikes on Iran. The Saturday discussions will center on bilateral security and trade cooperation.
Carney’s office stated the objective is to “strengthen the long-standing economic and security partnership between the two nations.”
Negotiations for a UK-Canada trade agreement stalled last year due to disagreements over agricultural products, specifically beef and cheese. While officials have maintained contact since then, a Whitehall source described previous discussions as “not in earnest…not anything substantial.”
Notably, Downing Street has highlighted recent trade deals with the EU, India, and the US, amidst global economic uncertainty following President Trump’s return to office.
The two prime ministers have demonstrated contrasting public approaches to President Trump. Sir Keir’s engagement with the US President has been described by some critics as overly deferential, while Carney openly rejected Trump’s characterization of Canada as America’s 51st state and expressed displeasure with Sir Keir’s offer of a state visit to the UK during this period.
On Sunday, both Prime Ministers will join the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, alongside President Trump and the leaders of France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the EU. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will also attend the three-day summit.
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