Canada is independent and sovereign, says Starmer ahead of visit
In an apparent challenge to the US President, the Prime Minister said the country was a 'much-valued member of the Commonwealth'.
Sir Keir indicated the UK and Canada will seek to restart trade talks on his way to meet Mark Carney, the country's premier and former Bank of England governor, in the Canadian capital on Saturday.
The visit will be the first by a British premier to the country in eight years and comes ahead of leaders from the world's major economies meeting for the G7 summit in Kananaskis next week.
The Prime Minister will be walking a diplomatic tightrope between strengthening bilateral relations with Canada and keeping Mr Trump, with whom he is finalising details of a transatlantic trade deal, on side.
The US President has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the '51st state.'
Asked whether he had called out Mr Trump's remarks about Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'Canada and the US are our allies. Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right, too.
'And that's the basis on which I've approached my discussions with all of our partners. I'm not going to get into the precise conversations I've had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth.
'And we work closely with Canada on any number of issues, whether that is defence and security – particularly the training in Ukraine, it's been something where Canada and the UK have worked very closely together.'
He added: 'And one of the things I want to do is to open the door to taking out further, reducing out trade barriers with Canada. So, I'm really clear where we stand on that.'
The UK and Canada have a trade relationship worth about £28 billion to the British economy and are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
But the two leaders have starkly different approaches to the US president. Mr Carney previously criticised the UK Government's invitation for Mr Trump to make a second state visit, telling Sky News earlier this year that Canadians were 'not impressed' by the gesture.
Downing Street said Sir Keir would use his visit to Canada to argue that 'in a shifting global economy, the UK must retain its proud status as a free and open trading nation – strengthening our existing alliances while reducing barriers to trade with other countries around the world'.
He is also expected to meet Mr Trump at the summit next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Police deploy tear gas as ‘No Kings' protesters rally against Trump
Tensions escalated during "No Kings" protests against Donald Trump on the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, 14 June, as police sought to disperse demonstrators with abrupt orders to leave. Protesters were pushed back by officers on horseback, and law enforcement also fired flash bangs and canisters of tear gas to clear out demonstrators after the formal event ended. Millions of people were estimated to have joined the protests in more than 2,000 communities, which took place the same day as a military parade in Washington, D.C., for the Army's 250th anniversary, which coincided with the president's birthday. Demonstrations protested what organisers described as Mr Trump's authoritarian agenda, including recent immigration raids that have rattled communities across the country, including in LA.
The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
UK will 'potentially' support Israel in Iran conflict, says Rachel Reeves
Israel has unleashed air strikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. READ MORE: Why did Israel attack Iran and have they again broken international law? Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop'. Reeves told Sky News that she was 'not going to rule anything out at this stage' given the 'fast-moving situation'. Asked whether the UK would come to Israel's aid if asked, the Chancellor told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in. 'I'm not going to comment on what might happen in the future, but so far, we haven't been involved, and we're sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.' Pushed again on whether the UK would deploy assets in support of Israel if asked, she said: 'What we've done in the past (…) is help protect Israel from incoming strikes. So a defensive activity.' She added: 'I'm not going to rule anything out at this stage (…) it's a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation. 'But we don't want to see escalation, we want to see de-escalation.' Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign. READ MORE: Ian Murray 'does not understand how devolution works', SNP minister says US president Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's total death toll to 13.
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK interest rates predicted to stay at 4.25% with Bank ‘nimble' amid uncertainty
UK interest rates are set to stay at 4.25% after inflation jumped in April and policymakers remain 'nimble' to the evolving economic backdrop, economists have predicted. Most economists think the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will opt to keep rates on hold when it meets on Thursday. The MPC has voted to cut rates at every other meeting since it started easing borrowing costs last August, from a peak of 5.25%. This has been possible while the rate of UK inflation has been steadily falling from the highs reached in 2023, at the peak of the cost-of-living crisis. However, inflation jumped to its highest level for more than a year in April, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation hit 3.5% in April, up from 2.6% in March. Since releasing the data, the ONS said that an error in vehicle tax data collected meant the April figure should have been 3.4%. Ellie Henderson, an economist for Investec, said monetary policy 'seems to be in a good position, allowing the Bank of England to wait and see how economic conditions and the international political backdrop evolve'. 'Ultimately, this is a highly uncertain time that requires a potentially nimble response from central banks, limiting any great foresight,' she said. 'Although the June decision might seem clear cut, how the MPC responds to the evolving economic backdrop thereafter much depends on the details of the world in which we find ourselves.' On Friday, oil prices were soaring after Israel launched an attack on Iran's nuclear programme, raising anxieties about possible disruption to the supply of the commodity in the Middle East. And ongoing uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariffs, which surveys suggest have dampened business confidence and reduced exports, also remains in focus for policymakers. Meanwhile, new official figures showed wage growth for UK workers eased sharply in the three months to April and the unemployment rate increased, as employers feel the effects of higher costs. Rob Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak, economists for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said a weaker jobs market 'will reassure the MPC that it can plan on further rate cuts', but added that 'one month's data is far from enough to allow the MPC to bin its 'gradual and careful' approach to easing monetary policy.' Bank chief economist Huw Pill, who is also an MPC member, said last month that he thought rates had been cut too quickly partly due to the risk of 'stubbornly strong' pay growth on overall inflation. New UK inflation figures for May will be released on Wednesday, while the US central bank is also widely expected to keep its interest rates on hold.
