Canada Turns to European Allies Amid Trump Threats
In his first overseas trip as Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney went on a whirlwind tour of France and Britain on Monday to showcase Canada’s deep European bonds as President Trump threatens his country’s economy and sovereignty.
Just three days after being sworn into office, Mr. Carney had lunch with President Emmanuel Macron of France in Paris, before heading to London, where he had an audience with King Charles III, Canada’s sovereign, and also met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain.
“I want to ensure that France and the whole of Europe works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, determined like you to maintain the most positive possible relations with the United States,” Mr. Carney told the press alongside Mr. Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Mr. Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and is threatening even more levies, unleashing pain on the Canadian economy, which is deeply integrated with that of the United States, particularly through a free-trade agreement, together with Mexico. Canada has retaliated with its own tariffs on American goods.
But Mr. Trump has also repeatedly declared that Canada should become a U.S. state, and has suggested that he wants to scrap the treaty that demarcates the border between the two nations.
The menacing attitude from Mr. Trump has enraged Canadians, and given Mr. Carney a boost that’s landed him at the helm of his party and his country.
His Europe trip did not yield any specific new commitments but it was an opportunity for Mr. Carney to advance two goals: to reach out to key allies in Europe, showing that Canada has more friends than just the United States, and to display his gravitas on the world stage as he prepares for an election.
Mr. Carney was elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party on March 9 and was sworn in as prime minister on Friday.
He is expected to call an election as early as this week. He is not an elected member of Canada’s Parliament, and his party operates a minority government, putting him under pressure to seek a mandate to govern.
At Home In The World
A career banker who served in two high-profile positions — as governor of the Bank of Canada and then of Bank of England — Mr. Carney is running Canada amid existential threats from its closest ally, neighbor and trading partner, while also launching a political campaign, something he has never done.
Against this backdrop, his European trip played to his strengths at a time when many Canadians are yearning to see their allies step up for them.
Mr. Macron greeted Mr. Carney as an old friend, boosting his image as someone who is at home on the world stage, familiar with its leaders and its problems, at a time of geopolitical and economic turmoil because of Mr. Trump’s revision of America’s alliances and policies.
“Given that we’ve known each other for many years, I know that we are receiving a man who loves his country, who is committed to his country,” Mr. Macron said.
France and Britain are foundational to Canada, having led its settlement by Europeans centuries ago.
Mr. Carney’s personal ties to Britain run deep. His wife is British and he studied at the University of Oxford. In 2013 he became the first foreigner ever to be chosen governor of the Bank of England and he gained British citizenship in 2018. He has moved to renounce his British citizenship, and the Irish citizenship he holds through ancestry, because of his position as prime minister, a spokeswoman said.
His political opponents have sought to paint him as a globalist with little real attachment to serving his home country.
Reality Check
Despite the symbolism of Mr. Carney’s welcome on his quick European tour, the reality is that Canada’s relationship to the United States is inescapable and irreplaceable.
The United States is Canada’s top trading partner; about 80 percent of Canadian exports go to the United States and the trade volume between the two nations is nearly one trillion dollars.
By contrast, last year, trade between Canada and Britain was worth about 61 billion Canadian dollars ($43 billion). Canada’s trade with the European Union as a bloc was more significant, growing to over $100 billion last year, making the E.U. Canada’s second-largest trading partner.
On Monday evening Mr. Carney said that the tariff and counter-tariff pattern was not sustainable, and he expressed an interest in having serious negotiations with the United States.
“What we’re looking for with respect to the United States, is to have a more comprehensive discussion of a negotiation of our overall commercial and security relationship,” Mr. Carney told the news media in London, adding that there were limits to the retaliatory tariffs Canada could impose on the United States.
Pressed to respond to Mr. Trump’s rhetoric about annexing Canada, Mr. Carney said it was “unthinkable” that the United States would make such a move on Canada. “Let me state the obvious, which is that both of us are members of NATO,” he added.
