Canadian PM Mark Carney says he wants to reduce security reliance on the US
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What is Canada's new strategy on international relations?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jalil, and in the early hours of Tuesday, the 18th of March, these are our main stories. The new Canadian Prime Minister has said he wants to reduce security reliance on the United States. The wave of trade tariffs initiated by Donald Trump has prompted the OECD to downgrade its global economic growth forecast. Rwanda has expelled all Belgian diplomats in a dramatic worsening of relations linked to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Also in this podcast... You get to know everything about the other person. You know exactly how they put their coffee cup down and what direction the handle points in. You know that they scratch their nose three times before they sit down.
An isolated team of scientists in Antarctica appeals for help after one member is accused of physical assault. Tradition has it that a new Prime Minister of Canada goes to the United States for their first visit abroad. But with tensions fraught between the two neighbours, in particular over Donald Trump's trade tariffs, Mark Carney chose to come to Europe instead.
How is Canada responding to US trade tariffs?
His first stop was Paris to meet President Emmanuel Macron, followed by London for talks with King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. At a news conference after the meeting, Mr Carney said he had achieved a great deal during his meetings.
This 36 hours away from Canada, the focus is on security, deepening security partnerships with France, with the United Kingdom. I'm encouraged by the progress that's been made. Secondly, advancing the support for Ukraine is very necessary. We are taking back a lot, but we're also taking back a deepening of our core partnerships, which is the objective.
Our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette, was at Mr Carney's news conference, and I asked her if the Canadian prime minister had achieved a great deal, as he claims, with his meetings.
He certainly went into great detail about, without he said there were certain things that were, in his words, very sensitive. But he wanted to convey a very strong impression that, first of all, these alliances were very, very strong and getting stronger, that they had very detailed discussions on strengthening security, including when it came to Ukraine. and on issues like critical minerals, artificial intelligence. He said that a free trade deal with Britain wasn't the priority on this visit. So you got a sense that it was the broader sort of economic and strategic partnerships between But, Jonathan, he was asked repeatedly by almost all the Canadian journalists about – there's a concern in Canada that Canada's allies are not really standing up for it when President Trump keeps saying things like, I'm going to make Canada the 51st state, Canada will be better off in that way.
And when Mark Carney was asked about that, he basically said, well, he was very diplomatic about it, let me say, saying we don't need anyone to stand up for us. What he did get from Sir Keir Starmer was the word sovereignty. And of course, King Charles also emphasized the sovereignty. And he felt that that was good enough combined with what he got behind closed doors.
And this all comes as he's expected to call a general election with Canadians really alarmed by Donald Trump's rhetoric.
It has completely transformed the Canadian political landscape. Before President Trump returned to the White House, the Liberal Party that now headed by Mark Carney was way behind in the polls. They were not going to lose the next general election. They were going to lose badly. First, there was what they call a Trudeau bump.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is Canada's new strategy on international relations?
0:38–1:54
2
How is Canada responding to US trade tariffs?
1:54–6:46
3
What are the implications of Trump's foreign policy shift?
6:46–16:00
4
Why was a Brown University professor deported?
16:00
5
What is the impact of Trump's trade war on the global economy?
13:56–18:59
6
Who was behind the arson attacks in Lithuania and Poland?
18:59–34:07
Speakers
17 identified
Janet Jalil 8 min
Lise Doucette 3 min
Sarah Rainsford 2 min
Nomia Iqbal 2 min
Kerry Allen 2 min
Guy De Launay 2 min
Narrator 2 min
James Menendez 1 min
Justin Rowlatt 1 min
Anne Soy 1 min
Rebecca Kesby 1 min
Michelle Fleury 1 min
Mark Lowen
Donald Trump
Ursula von der Leyen
Oleksandr Merezhko
Unidentified
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