Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an early visit to Paris ahead of next month's Group of Seven leaders' summit to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, according to UNN.
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As the publication notes, this visit is further evidence of the close relationship between the two leaders. After Carney was sworn in last spring, his first trip was to France to meet with Macron. They have also been acquainted since Carney headed the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
Carney plans to meet with Macron on June 12, sources said on condition of anonymity. Following this, the Canadian Prime Minister is expected to travel to Ireland before returning to France for the G7 summit in Evian in the French Alps.
Macron's office stated that the agenda ahead of the G7 summit has not yet been finalized. Carney's office declined to comment.
During his time as leader, Carney has prioritized deepening relations between Canada and Europe, particularly in the fields of defense and energy. According to one source, the leaders communicate with each other regularly.
Canada is the only non-European country to join the EU military procurement program known as SAFE. On Wednesday, Carney also announced that the Canadian government is beginning negotiations to purchase GlobalEye military reconnaissance aircraft produced by the Swedish company Saab AB—a contract that American companies were also competing for.
It also emerged this week that Germany has concluded a deal for the supply of liquefied natural gas from Canada's west coast, occurring as Europe seeks reliable energy sources after the war in Iran cut off supplies from the Middle East.
While France privately expresses regret that Canada is not a major buyer of French military equipment, Macron considers Carney a close ally in defending multilateralism and balanced dialogue with developing nations, one source noted. Macron publicly expressed gratitude after Canada followed France's lead and recognized Palestine as an independent state last year.
For his part, Carney seeks closer trade ties with Europe in an effort to diversify Canada's exports, which are predominantly dependent on the US market. The Canadian leader has stated that close integration with the US became a vulnerability amid the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs on trading partners.