OTTAWA, Canada – Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s new government are focused on what matters most right now: creating more higher-paying jobs, building new trade relationships with reliable partners, and making Canada more secure.
To that end, the prime minister announced today that he will travel to Paris, France, London, United Kingdom, and Iqaluit, Nunavut, from March 16 to 18, 2025, to strengthen two of our closest and longest-standing economic and security partnerships, and to reaffirm Canada’s Arctic security and sovereignty.
In Paris, prime minister Carney will meet with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. With the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement as the foundation, the leaders will focus on their shared commitment to build stronger economic, commercial, and defence ties. Prime Minister Carney will also emphasize Canada’s work to unleash the innovative and economic potential of artificial intelligence (AI) safely and responsibly.
In London, prime minister Carney will meet with the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer. Their discussions will focus on strengthening transatlantic security, growing the AI sector, and the strong commercial relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom. The prime ministers will explore ways to deepen bilateral trade through the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Prime Minister Carney will also have an audience with His Majesty King Charles III.
The prime minister will then travel to Iqaluit, Nunavut, on March 18 to reassert Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. He will meet with members of the Iqaluit Patrol of 1 Canadian Rangers Patrol Group – a group critical to Arctic stability and security.
Prime Minister Carney will also meet with the premier of Nunavut, P.J. Akeeagok, to learn more about the evolving needs and priorities of Arctic and Northern communities. He will reaffirm the new government’s support for growing a stronger economy across the North, reinforcing its sovereignty and security, and emphasizing our continued commitment to advancing reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis throughout the country.
“Canada was built upon a union of peoples – Indigenous, French, and British. 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,” said Carney, prime minister of Canada
Quick facts
- This is prime minister Carney’s first trip abroad since becoming prime minister of Canada.
- France and the United Kingdom are key allies for Canada on the international stage. They are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the G7, and the G20, as well as permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. France is a founding member of the European Union (EU) and a leading partner in La Francophonie. The United Kingdom is a key partner to Canada in the Commonwealth.
- In 2024, France was Canada’s third-largest merchandise trading partner in the EU and its 11th-largest trading partner globally, with two-way merchandise trade totalling $14.2 billion.
- The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed in 2016 and has been provisionally applied since 2017. Since then, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the EU has grown by more than 60 per cent.
- Canada and the UK share a sovereign, His Majesty King Charles III, and are among the oldest parliamentary democracies in the world.
- The United Kingdom was Canada’s third-largest single-country trading partner for goods and services in 2024, with trade valued at $61 billion. Around 3,500 Canadian companies, 93 per cent of which are small and medium-sized enterprises, export goods to the United Kingdom.
- In July 2023, Canada and ten other members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) signed the United Kingdom Accession Protocol, welcoming the United Kingdom as the 12th member of the Agreement and the first successful accession candidate.
- The Arctic region is central to Canada’s national identity, prosperity, and security. The Canadian Arctic covers 40 percent of Canada’s territory and more than 70 percent of its coastline. It is home to many Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples who have inhabited this land since time immemorial.
