Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister on Friday, March 14.
By Monday, word was that he was planning to be overseas, visiting France and Great Britain.
It seems like a strange priority for a new PM. Usually, whether after an election or a leadership shuffle, the new leader tries to stick close to home and focuses on domestic issues.
But for Carney, for Canada right now, it actually makes sense. In fact, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, the NDP's Jagmeet Singh, and Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet might want to tag along.
Canada needs foreign allies.
While Carney's scheduled trips to Britain and France are ostensibly about finding new international trade markets, you can bet that Canadian sovereignty and the constant threats of annexation by U.S. President Donald Trump are going to be discussed with European leaders.
Carney is going to point out a few very obvious things to British PM Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
First, Canada is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to this Trump administration. Whatever happens to us will happen to America's other allies next. This is already apparent, Trump has been almost as scathing about the European Union on trade as he has been about Canada, and he's flung wild threats 鈥� including a 200 per cent tariff on European alcohol 鈥� already.
Second, Canada will suffer the most in a trade war with the United States, but that doesn't mean Europe won't suffer. When the world's biggest economy pitches a fit, everyone else stands to lose.
Third, Canada is an underappreciated resource. We have natural resources, a strong manufacturing base, and a diverse and multi-lingual workforce. We've traded with the Americans because they were friendly and right on our doorstep; the first condition is no longer true, and we're open to more trans-Atlantic partnerships.
What we need from Europe is a little solidarity. European powers have been sitting on their hands, refusing to believe Trump's threats of annexation are real.
But as Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly pressed home at last week's G7 event, this is not a joke. It may have started as an idle thought or a taunt, but it's very real now.
And after Canada, who is the target of Trump's next' "joke?"
- M.C.
