UK PM heads to Ottawa to meet his Canadian counterpart as world leaders prepare for first post-Iran strike summit.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Canada this evening for high-level bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, ahead of the G7 summit that begins Sunday in Alberta. The meeting marks Starmer’s first face-to-face discussion with Carney since the former Bank of England governor took office as Canada’s prime minister in March.
The two leaders will meet in Ottawa on Saturday evening, where discussions are expected to focus on rebooting stalled trade negotiations and strengthening bilateral security ties. The summit also comes at a critical time geopolitically, as it will be the first major international gathering since Israel’s airstrikes on Iran last month heightened tensions across the Middle East.
A statement from Carney’s office said the primary aim of the meeting is to “strengthen the long-standing economic and security partnership between the two nations.” Starmer, for his part, is expected to use the meeting to push for progress on a new UK-Canada trade agreement, after talks collapsed last year over unresolved disputes surrounding beef and cheese exports.
Negotiations have since been in limbo, with a Whitehall source describing recent contact as “not in earnest… not anything substantial.” The shift in leadership in both London and Ottawa, however, has raised hopes of a reset in relations and the potential for renewed momentum on a deal.
The British prime minister’s Canadian visit comes amid a flurry of international activity. In recent weeks, Downing Street has been eager to highlight a trio of trade pacts — with the European Union, India, and the United States — as evidence of the UK’s return to serious global dealmaking, despite headwinds in the global economy following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
But it’s the political dynamic between Starmer and Carney — once central bank colleagues, now ideological counterparts — that is also drawing attention. Their meeting carries an undercurrent of friction regarding their respective approaches to President Trump.
Starmer has gone out of his way to show warmth to Trump, including offering an early invitation for a state visit to Britain. Critics have called his approach deferential, even fawning. Carney, on the other hand, has taken a far more assertive stance. He has pushed back firmly against Trump’s dismissive rhetoric towards Canada, including the provocative claim that Canada is “America’s 51st state.”
Carney has privately expressed irritation over Starmer’s overtures to Trump, particularly the optics of the UK’s state visit offer at a time when Canada was defending its sovereignty in trade and defence matters.
Despite those tensions, the Ottawa meeting is expected to be professionally cordial, with both sides recognising the strategic importance of their relationship — particularly as the world faces growing economic uncertainty, renewed great power competition, and an urgent need for coordinated action on climate and conflict.
On Sunday morning, both leaders will travel together to Kananaskis, a mountain resort in Alberta’s Rockies, for the G7 summit. There they will be joined by President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Annalena Baerbock, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and senior EU representatives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also attend, continuing his push for stronger military and financial support amid the ongoing war with Russia.
The G7 agenda is expected to focus on international security, climate cooperation, supply chain resilience, and coordinated responses to authoritarian threats. Yet bilateral tensions and divergent national interests — including differing stances on Trump — are likely to colour the atmosphere of the talks.
For Starmer and Carney, the weekend offers a chance to put pragmatism ahead of personality and begin building a post-Brexit, post-pandemic relationship that restores confidence in the UK-Canada partnership.
