The Prime Minister met the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa this afternoon.

They began by discussing the grave situation in the Middle East, agreeing that the upcoming G7 Summit presented an opportunity to come together with partners in pursuit of de-escalation. 

Turning to the UK-Canada relationship – they had a warm and productive conversation, agreeing that as two like-minded leaders there is huge potential to drive forward our partnership for the benefit of British and Canadian people. 

Prime Minister Carney confirmed that Canada would ratify the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), seeking to introduce legislation to their parliament in the autumn. This will bring huge benefits to UK businesses by lowering tariffs when buying from and selling to Canada. 

They also agreed to set up a joint taskforce to turbocharge progress on other areas of mutual benefit, including technology and artificial intelligence – in support of shared growth and our national security. The taskforce will also look to make progress on the wider UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement. 

The Prime Minister said that the world has changed when it comes to trade and the economy, so he wants teams to go as far and as fast as possible, because it is in all of our interests to lower trade barriers with our closest partners.

Moving on to defence and security, the leaders agreed that there is no doubt that everyone needs to step up at such a volatile time for the world. The Prime Minister reiterated that all NATO allies must come together to advance our collective security in the coming years. 

They ended on their enduring support for Ukraine, and Prime Minister Carney thanked the Prime Minister for his invaluable leadership on the Coalition of the Willing. 

They looked forward to discussing this further at the G7 Summit in the coming days.