Canada Looking to Join Major European Military Expansion Plan by July 1: Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is hopeful Canada will join the European Union's defence rearmament plan by July 1 in a bid to decrease its reliance on the United States for arms and ammunition.
The government's throne speech on May 27 committed the country to joining ReArm Europe and Carney told CBC in an interview the same day he wants to move quickly on joining the initiative.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
32 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Mark Carney signals ‘the imperative of making Canada an energy superpower' on eve of first ministers' meeting
SASKATOON—Building bridges — and possibly pipelines — while battling barriers. As Prime Minister Mark Carney meets Monday with the premiers, he wants to fast-track 'nation-building' infrastructure projects and eliminate interprovincial trade barriers to strengthen a Canadian economy under attack from U.S. President Donald Trump. 'Partnership is a theme for our discussion this morning,' Carney said Sunday in Calgary at a roundtable with leading figures from the oil and gas industry before the first ministers' meeting. Prime Minister Mark Carney met with oil and gas executives in Calgary to get their input for his plans to make Canada an energy superpower. Carney, in his first visit to Calgary since being sworn in as prime minister, sat down for a closed door roundtable with several representatives of the energy sector. (June 1, 2025 / The Canadian Press) 'It's a critical time for our country. The world's certainly more divided and dangerous and the imperative of making Canada an energy superpower in all respects has never been greater. We will do everything we can at the federal government level to support those partnerships,' he said. In a letter to the prime minister released Sunday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her province wants to get its products to market while reducing dependence on the U.S., meaning pipelines to tidewater must be among Carney's nation-building priorities. 'Failure to have an oil pipeline on the initial list will perpetuate current investment uncertainty and send an unwelcome signal to Albertans concerned about Ottawa's commitment to national unity,' warned Smith, referring to the potential for a referendum on secession in Alberta. Ontario Premier Doug Ford — who signed a memorandum of understanding Sunday with Saskatchewan's Scott Moe to remove barriers to trade and labour mobility between the two provinces — said it was 'encouraging' that Carney was in Calgary earlier in the day to meet with energy executives. 'This prime minister is really sending out olive branches across the country. He understands the previous prime minister (Justin Trudeau) totally ignored Alberta, totally ignored Saskatchewan. That was unacceptable,' said Ford. 'Let's get rid of all this regulation and red tape that's prohibiting us from moving forward at a rapid speed, because it all depends on the speed right now,' he said, noting Trump 'wants to annihilate our economy' with tariffs on Canadian products. Prime Minister Mark Carney is huddling with the country's premiers in Saskatoon to find a consensus on what major industrial projects Canada should prioritize and quickly approve. (June 1, 2025 / The Canadian Press) With Carney pledging to lift Ottawa's hurdles to internal trade by Canada Day, just one month from now, Ford stressed Ontario has also inked accords with Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. 'I'm confident we'll come up with a deal (with Quebec, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador),' he said, pointing out internal trade barriers cost the Canadian economy $200 billion annually and can add 15 per cent to the cost of many goods and services. Quebec Premier François Legault's government tabled a bill Friday to get rid of some interprovincial trade barriers that have limited labour mobility for workers from other parts of Canada. 'What we're doing is sending a signal that Quebec is open to interprovincial trade. If we want to have better access to the Canadian market, we have to accept to open ours,' said Quebec Minister for the Economy Christopher Skeete. But Quebec, which has a shortage of construction workers, plans to keep in place labour barriers in that sector. Saskatchewan's Moe said the leadership change in Ottawa is palpable among the premiers. 'Credit to Prime Minister Carney. He is aware that there's … a feeling of alienation in certain areas of the nation, and Saskatchewan almost certainly would be one of those areas,' he told reporters. 'I would say that it's a reactionary feeling due to the layering of policies that we've seen over the last number of years. That the feeling is, is that it has cost Saskatchewan communities and industries jobs.' To that end, Moe said 'a port-to-port corridor throughout Western Canada … would essentially open up not only the Asian market, but advance our access into the European market as well, for many products.' British Columbia Premier David Eby, who has headed on a trade mission in Asia and will miss the first ministers' meeting, said 'the asks of Alberta are very predictable' in terms of oil and gas. 'Premier Smith has been advocating for this pipeline access for a long time. I'm not surprised that she is continuing to advocate for it,' Eby said Saturday. 'There's no project yet currently — of which I'm aware — and so if finally a project is proposed and financed, whether private or public, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' Some First Nation leaders and environmentalists have expressed concern about new pipelines at a time when the world is trying to wean itself off of carbon-emitting fuels. Before flying to Saskatoon, Carney announced Marc-André Blanchard, Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations, will be his new chief of staff starting next month, succeeding interim chief Marco Mendicino, who is considering a Toronto mayoral run . He has convened a major summit here for the first time since 1985 to signal to Western Canada that Ottawa is listening to its concerns after a decade of his predecessor's policies that rankled many in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The confab comes as the U.S. president's tariffs aimed at Canada are helping to clear the logjam of interprovincial trade barriers that have left regions competing with one another.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Asia share markets, dollar wary on tariff news
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian share markets made a wary start to the week on Monday as investors navigated the shifting sands of White House tariff policy, while awaiting key U.S. jobs data and a widely expected cut in European interest rates. There was little obvious reaction to President Donald Trump's threat late Friday to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50%, beginning on June 4, a sudden twist that drew the ire of European Union negotiators. Speaking on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump would soon speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to iron out a dispute over critical minerals. White House officials continued to play down a court ruling that Trump had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. "The court ruling will complicate the path ahead on trade policy, but there remains an ample set of provisions available to the administration to deliver its desired results," said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan. "There is a commitment to maintaining a minimum U.S. tariff rate of at least 10% and imposing further sector tariff increases," he added. "An increase in ASEAN to discourage transhipment looks likely, and the bias for higher tariffs on US-EU trade persists." Markets will be particularly interested to see if Trump goes ahead with the 50% tariff on Wednesday, or backs off as he has done so often before. In the meantime, caution reigned and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan went flat. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.1%, while South Korean stocks dipped 0.1%. S&P 500 futures eased 0.2% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.3%. The S&P climbed 6.2% in May, while the Nasdaq rallied 9.6% on hopes final import levies will be far lower than the initial sky-high levels. Front-running the tariffs has already caused wild swings in the economy, with a contraction in the first quarter likely turning into a jump this quarter as imports fall back. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimate is running at an annualised 3.8%, though analysts assume this will slow sharply in the second half of the year. Data this week on U.S. manufacturing and jobs will offer a timely reading on the pulse of activity, with payrolls seen rising 130,000 in May while unemployment stays at 4.2%. EYEING UNEMPLOYMENT A rise in unemployment is one of the few developments that could get the Federal Reserve to start thinking of easing policy again, with investors having largely given up on a cut this month or next. A move in September is seen at around a 75% chance, though Fed officials have stopped well short of endorsing such pricing. There are at least 11 Fed speakers on the diary for this week, led by Fed Chair Jerome Powell later on Monday. Fed Governor Christopher Waller did say on Sunday that cuts remain possible later this year as he saw downside risks to economic activity and employment and upside risks to inflation from the tariffs. A softer jobs report would be a relief for the Treasury market, where 30-year yields continue to flirt with the 5% barrier as investors demand a higher premium to offset the ever-expanding supply of debt. The Senate this week will start considering a tax-and-spending bill that will add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt. Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank is considered almost certain to cut its rates by a quarter point to 2.0% on Thursday, while markets will be sensitive to guidance on the chance of another move as early as July. The Bank of Canada meets Wednesday and markets imply a 76% chance it will hold rates at 2.75%, while sounding dovish on the future given the tariff-fuelled risk of recession there. Widening rate spreads have so far offered only limited support to the U.S. dollar. "The greenback remains near the lower end of its post-2022 range and considerably weaker than interest rate differentials would imply," noted Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics. "Sentiment around the greenback remains negative and it continues to look vulnerable to further bad news on the fiscal and trade policy fronts." On Monday, the dollar had dipped 0.2% on the yen to 143.79, while the euro edged up a fraction to $1.1353. [USD/] The greenback also slipped 0.1% on the Canadian dollar to 1.3727, getting no tailwind from Trump's threat of 50% tariffs on Canadian steel exports. In commodity markets, gold edged up 0.6% to $3,310 an ounce, having lost 1.9% last week. [GOL/] Oil prices bounced after OPEC+ decided to increase output in July by the same amount as it did in each of the prior two months, a relief to some who had feared an even bigger increase. [O/R] Brent rose $1.07 to $63.85 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained $1.18 to $61.95 per barrel. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ontario, Saskatchewan sign agreement to free up trade ahead of meeting with Carney
SASKATOON — Ontario and Saskatchewan have signed an agreement to remove trade barriers ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to hash out a plan they hope will supercharge the economy. The memorandum of understanding sees both provinces mutually recognize each other's goods, workers and investment. They are also working to advance measures that would see willing provinces allow the sale of alcohol directly to consumers. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the move helps grow provincial economies as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens more tariffs on Canadian steel. The premiers are meeting Carney tomorrow to discuss major nation-building projects that could boost the economy. Ford says Carney needs to remove regulations to make it easier to build projects, and Moe says he's hoping for a port-to-port corridor in Western Canada to ship more goods. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025. Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
