Carney heads to Ireland, France to strengthen ties and attend G7 summit – National
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Europe on Thursday, visiting Ireland and France for the G7 summit.
The conference will start from June 15 to June 17 in Evian-les-Bains and France says it will focus on reducing inequality around the world.
The conference was delayed a day after US President Donald Trump announced that the White House will hold a UFC fight on June 14, which is the day of the flag in the United States and the 80th anniversary of Trump.
Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University, told The Canadian Press that leaders will have to focus on “dealing with Trump” at the summit.
“The real talks will be between the remaining G6 leaders when Trump is not in the room, about how you handle a president who is aggressive, unpredictable and makes life difficult for everyone,” he said, noting that the president has insulted several European leaders.
The French government says the summit’s priorities will include solving the country’s biggest problems, including G7 support for Ukraine, child protection online, crime and “new rules of the game for global governance.”
However, Hampson said the official agenda often does not reflect what the key issues are for discussion. He said that could include conflicts in the Middle East, energy security and US tariffs.
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Canada hosted the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last year. Trump left a day early because of the conflict in the Middle East.
The G7 includes Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy. The European Union is also participating in the negotiations, although the bloc cannot be counted in the name of the group.
Before the summit, Carney is making stops in Paris and Dublin, Ireland.
A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office says Carney and Macron will discuss deepening ties in areas such as defense, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and precious metals.
Ireland, which has become a major center for foreign investment and business, is expected to take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in July.
The PMO notes that Carney’s visit will be the first official trip by a Canadian prime minister to Ireland in nearly a decade. Carney will meet Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly as part of talks to deepen cultural and trade ties between the nations.
Carney met with 150 Irish business leaders in Ottawa last month. The embassy said on social media that the discussion focused on the countries’ economic opportunities, innovation, investment and growth in all sectors.
Bilateral trade in goods between Canada and Ireland to reach $6 billion by 2025. Canadian exports of $1.1 billion to Ireland were led by grains and imports of $4.9 billion were led by pharmaceutical products.
Trade between the countries is supported by the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA, which has been used temporarily but has not yet been ratified by several states, including Ireland.
Martin met with Carney in Ottawa in September. At the time, he said Ireland would ratify the CETA agreement. The leaders’ joint statement said they agreed on the importance of Ireland fully ratifying the agreement by 2026.
The Irish Times reported late last month that the Irish government will approve new legislation to speed up the approval of a trade deal to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States.
An estimated 4.5 million Canadians have Irish ancestry, representing about 15 percent of the country’s population.
Carney also has deep ties to Ireland, with his grandparents immigrating from County Mayo in the early 1920s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 7, 2026.
– via files from Craig Lord
© 2026 The Canadian Press
