Newly sworn in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced his first trips abroad since taking office will take him to France and the United Kingdom, as well as the Arctic territory of Nunavut.
Carney, who was sworn in a prime minister on Friday, was set to travel to Paris and London before heading to Canada’s Nunavut from Sunday to Tuesday.
The trip aims “to strengthen two of our closest and longest-standing economic and security partnerships, and to reaffirm Canada’s Arctic security and sovereignty”, his office said on Saturday.
In Paris, Carney was set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and discuss strengthening economic, commercial and defence ties as well as discuss artificial intelligence (AI).
In London, Carney and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were to discuss strengthening transatlantic security, growing the AI sector as well as bilateral trade and the commercial relationship between the two countries.
Carney was then due to travel to Nunavut, a sparsely populated Canadian territory which encompasses over two million square kilometres and forms most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
“Canada was built upon a union of peoples – Indigenous, French, and British,” Carney said.
“My visit to France and the United Kingdom will strengthen trade, commercial, and defence ties with two of our strongest and most reliable partners, and my visit to Nunavut will be an opportunity to bolster Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and security, and our plan to unlock the North’s full economic potential.”
Carney’s visit to Nunavut comes amid concerning rhetoric coming out of the White House since US President Donald Trump returned to power in January.
Trump has been talking for months about wanting to take control of Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and expand US influence in the Arctic. Trump has also been publicly musing for weeks about annexing Canada as the 51st US state.
https://thewest.com.au/politics/canadas-pm-flying-off-to-consolidate-ties-with-allies-c-18057080
