Canada's PM Sends Message With His First Foreign Visit

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday during his first official overseas trip, seeking support from one of Ottawa's oldest allies as President Trump attacks Canada's sovereignty and economy. Macron and Carney did not take journalists' questions ahead of the talks, a sign the French president might not want to upset Trump. Macron did not address Trump's attacks on Canada but noted that tariffs only bring inflation. "In the current international context, we want to be able to develop our most strategic projects with our closest, more loyal partners," Macron said, adding that "we are stronger together, better able to ensure ... the full exercise of our sovereignty." Carney will next visit Britain, reports the AP, where he will meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III, Canada's head of state.

• Why Paris and London? Carney chose two European capitals that shaped Canada. During his swearing-in, he noted the country was built on the bedrock of three peoples, French, English, and Indigenous. He said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will "never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States." "The fact that Canada never broke away from the UK in a violent fashion is a key historical and institutional difference between the United States and Canada," said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

• The elephant in the room: "I want to ensure that France, and the whole of Europe, works enthusiastically with Canada, the most European of non-European countries, and at the same time resolutely North American, determined, like you, to maintain the most positive relations possible with the United States," Carney said Monday.
• No Washington trip planned: Carney has said he's ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty. He doesn't plan to visit Washington at the moment but hopes to have a phone call with Trump soon.
• US-made military purchases: Carney's government is also reviewing the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets in light of Trump's trade war. Macron has been trying to persuade France's allies to move away from purchasing American military hardware, which also coincides with mounting concerns in Europe that European defenses are overly dependent on US weaponry, tech support, and goodwill.

(More Mark Carney stories.)