Building a Canadian economy beyond the U.S.
From Sept. 25 to 28, 2025, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended a conference in London, England alongside prime ministers from the U.K., Spain, and Iceland. Meetings included discussions regarding how Canada can strengthen international relations to reduce trade dependency on the U.S. amidst Donald Trump’s presidency. While in London, Carney attended the Global Progress Action Summit alongside other world leaders to discuss sustainable economic growth in a changing geopolitical landscape. Specifically, the Summit focused on how centre-left political parties can compete with growing right-wing populism. Carney was encouraged to work with like-minded leaders to discuss how Canada can grow a stronger domestic economy. The U.K. is Canada’s largest trading partner in the continent of Europe, with $61 billion in goods exchanged in 2024.
Carney also attended meetings with African, European, and Asian investment firms while in London. Carney said the Canadian government will “invest hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars over the course of the next decade to create hundreds of thousands of careers for Canadians and long-term prosperity.”
With Carney’s political agenda heavily focused on maintaining international partnerships and building new ones, the prime minister has been travelling frequently since beginning his term in March. As of Oct. 9, 2025, Carney has travelled internationally 13 times, with two of them being London visits. His first trip was to Europe shortly after winning the Liberal leadership race. Carney met with His Majesty King Charles III, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year. This signaled a foreign policy pivot toward Europe which led to a new Canada-EU security pact. Carney also visited the White House, attended Pope Leo’s inaugural mass in Rome, and joined the NATO summit in the Netherlands. Over the summer, he travelled to Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and Latvia to reinforce support for Ukraine and deepen trade and defence ties. Most recently, in Mexico, he signed an infrastructure, crime, and environmental agreement with President Claudia Sheinbaum. He also attended the UN General Assembly in New York and is slated to join upcoming summits in Asia and Africa.
Despite Carney’s incentives to strengthen international relations, his recent travel has been met with criticism. Conservative leader Pierre Pollievre has taken to social media to voice his opinions on the matter. Regarding the London trips, Pollievre stated that Carney is “back on his taxpayer-funded jet” and his recent actions are “nothing but Liberal showbusiness.” Meanwhile, Canada’s high commissioner in the U.K., spoke out against the Tory critiques, saying “he’s doing exactly what he should be doing, which is the wholesale marketing of Canada to diversify sources of trade – both exports and imports – but also to encourage investment in the country.”