Carney courts Europe ahead of G7 amid U.S. trade pressure

Mark Carney used a June swing through France and Ireland to signal that Canada is not waiting on Washington to define its next move. With the G7 Leaders’ Summit set for June 15 to 17 in Évian-les-Bains, France, the prime minister’s European outreach put trade, defence and technology at the center of Canada’s diplomacy, while Donald Trump’s tariff pressure hung over every stop.

Carney traveled from June 11 to 17 for bilateral visits before the summit, and his Ireland visit carried unusual weight. It was described as his first official trip to Ireland as prime minister and the first bilateral visit there by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade. In Dublin, he met Taoiseach Micheál Martin, attended a welcoming ceremony at Dublin Castle and later was due in County Mayo to meet Irish President Catherine Connolly, giving the trip both political and personal resonance as he visited his family’s ancestral homeland.

The message in Dublin was blunt. Carney said Canada and Ireland were navigating a “global rupture” and could still be a force for good by working together. AP reported that he also argued middle-power countries should not compete for favor with the United States, a line that placed his European outreach in direct contrast to the transactional tone that has defined recent U.S.-Canada tensions.

That argument now extends beyond symbolism. Canada and the European Union signed a security and defence partnership in Brussels on June 23, 2025, setting the stage for closer military coordination. A March 5, 2026 joint EU-Canada statement said both sides wanted stronger trade and investment ties to support trade diversification, prosperity, economic security and resilience. Carney’s trip sharpened that agenda by linking it to the broader question of whether Canada can reduce its exposure to a more unpredictable American market.

The stakes rise further at the G7, where Canadian officials said leaders are expected to discuss the global economy and China’s industrial overcapacity. One report said Carney would also hold talks with G7 allies and China ahead of the summit. Carney and Trump are both expected in Évian-les-Bains, where the summit was delayed by a day after Trump announced a UFC fight at the White House on June 14, a scheduling twist that underscored the turbulence surrounding the meeting. For Carney, Europe is no longer just a stop before the G7. It is becoming the clearest test of whether Canada is quietly hedging against instability in Washington.