Carney, Macron present united front against ‘Trump aggression’

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, seeking support from one of Canada’s oldest allies as US President Donald Trump continues to attack Canada’s sovereignty and economy.

This is Carney’s first official foreign trip since he was sworn in on March 14. He will next land in London where he will sit down with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Carney said Canada is fundamentally different from America and will “never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”

Macron said tariffs only bring inflation but did not address Trump’s attacks on Canada.

“We both believe fair trade which respects international rules is a good thing for the prosperity of everyone and is certainly more effective than tariffs, which create inflation and damage supply chains and our economic integration,” Macron said.

Macron has been ramping up efforts to persuade France’s allies to move away from purchases of American military hardware, which dovetails with Canada’s rethink on F-35s and also coincides with mounting questions and concerns in Europe that European defences are overly dependent on US weaponry, technical support and goodwill.

Carney is expected to call an election by the end of the week, to take place in late April or early May.