Carney's trip to Europe aims to encourage trade, defence and energy co-operation
Economic and security ties are front and centre as Prime Minister Mark Carney meets allies over the next few days in eastern and central Europe.
The prime minister will be travelling not only to Germany but also Poland and Latvia, where he'll meet with key business and political leaders, as well as Canadian troops deployed throughout the region.
The German portion of the trip was acknowledged on Friday by Carney as he answered questions about the removal of some reciprocal tariffs on the United States.
"Canada has a good partnership with Germany. It's been built up over the years, but it can be much, much better, and I'm confident that with this chancellor, and the focus of our government, that it will," he said.
Carney said he will meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday. Following his remarks, a senior government official expanded on the itinerary, saying there will be meetings with key German business leaders.
The German government in a statement announced the planned meeting ahead of Carney's news conference on Friday.
In Poland, Canada is expected to finalize a bilateral strategic partnership focused on energy and security. Carney will also meet with Canadian troops deployed in the country.
In Latvia, Carney will get a first-hand look at the Canadian-led NATO brigade and is scheduled to meet with the Baltic nation's prime minister, Evika Siliņa.
"This visit to Europe is an opportunity to strengthen relations with European allies, and to progress co-operation in key areas, including trade, energy, critical minerals and defence," said the senior official who was authorized to speak on background only.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson and Defence Minister David McGuinty will accompany the prime minister on different legs of the trip.
The meetings with allies come as uncertainty hangs over the bid by U.S. President Donald Trump to broker a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign — launching one of its heaviest missile and drone assaults since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — following last week's summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with NBC News on Friday that there is currently no plan for Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin would meet Zelenskyy "when the agenda is ready for a summit," he said, noting that "this agenda is not ready at all."
Lavrov also accused Zelenskyy of failing to accept Russia's demanded preconditions for negotiation, namely discussion about "territorial issues."
At the same time, Ukraine is looking for concrete security guarantees from allies, including the U.S., before agreeing to a potential peace deal. Carney said he spoke with Trump about the subject.
As a member of the "coalition of the willing" led by France and Britain, Carney said Canada will have a role to play in security guarantees. But precisely what that will look like is uncertain.
"Canada has the potential to have an important role," the prime minister said. "So, we're very engaged in these sets of issues."
Appearing last week on CBC Radio's The House, Canada's top military commander, Gen. Jennie Carignan, said she's had a number of discussions with other allied defence chiefs and that the shape of each country's involvement is still being determined.
Much will depend on what the ceasefire or the potential peace deal will look like: "There's a lot of unknown at the moment, but one thing is for sure is that they will need a requirement for training and development for Ukrainian forces to assume their own security," Carignan, chief of the defence staff, said.
In Kyiv, meanwhile, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met with top Ukrainian officials.
"We are now working together — Ukraine, the Europeans, the United States — to make sure that these security guarantees are of such a level that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sitting in Moscow will never try to attack Ukraine again," Mark Rutte said.
cbc.ca
