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Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Britain needs energy. Canada has energy. Why can't we work together and dream big?
Tom Tugendhat is a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom and a former security minister. The King of Canada's first Speech from the Throne last week made two things clear: First, those who moved to the true north and stayed loyal to the Crown are still strong – and free to choose their own path; and second, no two countries could be closer than the United Kingdom and Canada. For centuries, we have stood together in peace and in war, in economic expansion and in political transformation. We're not just a historic alliance with a symbolic bond of monarchy; we're bound by mutual sacrifice and a shared vision of the future. Today, the world is making clear why that connection matters to us both. In Britain, shortsighted decisions have left our homes and businesses more exposed to energy instability, while on the Canadian side, the Prime Minister has made clear there are good reasons to question the reliability of the country's most important energy partner. As Canada's new Energy Minister, Tim Hodgson, put it in Calgary: 'It's high time to trade more with people who share our values – not just our border.' No country fits that description better than Britain – and we need the same. More infrastructure needed to boost energy security in Eastern Canada, Hodgson says Even with the oil and gas reserves of the North Sea, Britain's energy position is more fragile than many realize. Despite the rhetoric of decoupling and the transition to green energy, Europe remains bound to unstable energy flows, and Britain is not immune. At the same time, the North Sea is fuelling less and less of our economy, as excessive taxation and long-term decline are restricting output, while renewables are a long way from fully replacing carbon-based energy. The result is that Britain, a country that once powered the world, is now looking at a future dependent on regimes that don't share our values – and the price we're paying is huge. British manufacturers now face industrial energy costs nearly three times those of their U.S. competitors and more than 50 per cent higher than those in France, a crippling impact on our competitiveness. The costs push businesses out of Britain, leaving us reliant not just on energy supplies from foreign countries – often with authoritarian governments – but also their manufactured goods. This isn't just about economics, it is about sovereignty. No country that prizes its independence should accept that, but it's not like we don't have a choice. Canada offers Britain a better path – one that also gives Canadians a choice. Alberta has the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves, and by 2030 Canada's oil sands will produce nearly four million barrels a day. Most of that is slated to cross the southern border. But Canada offers not just volume but reliability. Alberta's energy is governed by the rule of law. It is extracted by workers who are paid fair wages under transparent environmental rules. It is not subject to the whims of oligarchs, mullahs or party bosses. It is democratic power, energy we can trust. Britain can open up new markets and be an even more important partner for Canada. Quebec's position on the Atlantic, with about a fifth of the country's gas reserves, could go beyond its famed hydropower and supply our islands and Europe, reducing the continent's dependence on Russia, the Middle East and coal. Together, Canada and the United Kingdom can make each other stronger. But it does not stop there. Bringing in Australia and New Zealand, we could create a CANZUK energy framework. CANZUK countries have a combined GDP of about $7.5-trillion. That's nearly double the GDP of Japan and, though smaller than the European Union's $19.4-trillion, is a democratic counterweight with the potential to lead. Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand share a monarch, common law and similar approaches to trade and regulation. What distinguishes us is largely administrative: visas, regulations and trade barriers. These are not problems of culture or principle. They are challenges of will. These obstacles should be footnotes, not strategic barriers. It's important that we resolve to fix them, starting with the mutually critical domain of energy. Canada's oil and gas can meet Britain's needs as we shift away from existing supplies. Australian uranium can power a nuclear revival, while New Zealand's renewable innovations can accelerate the clean transition. In return, Britain can provide financing, engineering and reach to speed outreach beyond the alliance. The free movement of skilled workers would see the benefits of collaboration multiply: Aberdeen's engineers in Alberta, Canadian experts in British nuclear, Australian scientists shaping clean fuel strategies across the network. This is not just trade. It is sovereignty through solidarity and independence through energy. For Canada, having options other than the United States protects its sovereignty and strengthens its negotiating position with its neighbour. King Charles spoke to Canada's strength and freedom and to the family of nations that has stood strong through history's greatest tests. Now, as the democratic world faces a new challenge of instability and economic coercion, the ties that bind us must again become instruments of strategic strength.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Carney takes swipe at Starmer over Trump state visit
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a pointed rebuke to the UK government for offering Donald Trump a second state visit, calling the move diplomatically disruptive. In a televised interview, Carney said Canadians 'weren't impressed by that gesture' given the heightened tensions with Washington. The timing of the invite coincided with Trump's provocative comments suggesting Canada should become the US's '51st state.' Carney noted, 'It cut across some of those messages' his government had been sending to the White House about sovereignty. His remarks underlined the deep discomfort felt in Ottawa over the UK's symbolic alignment with Trump during a fraught period. Carney's comments followed a contentious meeting at the White House, where Trump doubled down on his remarks about a US-Canada merger. During that Oval Office exchange, Trump called the border an 'artificially drawn line' and described a union with Canada as a 'wonderful marriage.' In response, Carney visibly recoiled and replied, 'Canada is not for sale.' The episode was widely covered in Canadian media and stirred national debate. It became a flashpoint in the country's broader effort to assert its independence on the global stage. UK officials struck a more neutral tone in response to Carney's criticism, framing it as an example of open discourse between allies. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden remarked: 'Prime Minister Carney is entitled to his view.' He acknowledged that both the US and Canada are vital partners, saying, 'Our relationship and friendship with Canada is really important too.' British leaders appeared eager to smooth tensions without retracting the invitation to Trump. Their statements reflected a desire to maintain balance amid competing international interests. McFadden also defended the state visit by emphasizing recent economic gains made under Trump's administration. 'I'm particularly glad that we've conducted a trade deal that saves thousands of automotive jobs in this country,' he said. The agreement included reduced tariffs on UK car exports and revised levies on steel and aluminium. While controversial, the trade deal was presented as a victory for British workers and a foundation for future economic collaboration. These justifications, however, have done little to quell criticism from Canada and domestic sceptics alike. For Carney, the episode served to reinforce his political position following an election win driven by opposition to Trump's rhetoric. His Liberal Party campaigned on promises to protect Canadian sovereignty and confront external pressure. The UK's gesture to Trump — hand-delivered by Sir Keir Starmer on behalf of the King — was viewed in Ottawa as tone-deaf. With Trump refusing to back down and the UK doubling down on bilateral ties, the situation revealed deep fissures in the transatlantic alliance. Navigating diplomacy in this climate remains a high-stakes challenge for all involved.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Canadian PM criticises UK invitation to Trump for second state visit
Canada's prime minister Mark Carney has criticised Britain's invitation to Donald Trump for a second state visit, saying it undermined his government's effort to project a united front against the US president's talk of annexing Canada. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said he wants Canada to become the 51st US state, a suggestion that has angered Canadians and left Britain trying to tread a fine line between the two North American countries. Britain's King Charles is also head of state of Canada, a former British colony, and the monarch has made a number of symbolic gestures in recent months, wearing Canadian medals, planting a maple tree and referring to himself as the king of Canada. Charles, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, is also due to attend Canada's state opening of parliament on 27 May, the first time a British monarch has attended the event in Ottawa since 1977. Carney, in an interview with Sky News, was asked about British prime minister Keir Starmer's move in February to use his visit to the Oval Office to hand Trump an invitation from the monarch for an unprecedented second state visit to London. 'I think, to be frank, they [Canadians] weren't impressed by that gesture … given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty,' he said. Carney, who won a party race to become prime minister in March before he secured victory in Canada's election last month by vowing to stand up Trump, said Charles's presence in Canada later this month was by design. 'All issues around Canada's sovereignty have been accentuated by the president. So no, it's not coincidental, but it is also a reaffirming moment for Canadians,' he said. Starmer, who is trying to improve trading ties with the US after Britain left the European Union, has sought to play to its strengths when dealing with Trump, talking up its security expertise, pledging higher defence spending, and offering the pomp and pageantry that comes with a state visit. Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland and who has repeatedly praised the British royal family, agreed a limited bilateral trade agreement with London this month. Asked about Carney's criticism, senior British minister Pat McFadden told Sky News that every country had to decide how to conduct its relations with other countries.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Carney says Canadians 'weren't impressed' by U.K.'s offer of second state visit to Trump
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians "weren't impressed" when the U.K. decided to offer U.S. President Donald Trump an unprecedented second state visit while he was threatening Canada's sovereignty. "To be frank, they weren't impressed by that gesture, quite simply, given the circumstance," Carney told British news channel Sky News in an interview posted online Wednesday. "It was at a time when we were being quite clear, some of us were being quite clear, about the issues around sovereignty." Carney said that when he was campaigning for the party leadership he was "being clear" that Canada is not for sale, and the invitation that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented to Trump while in the Oval Office "cut across some of those messages." Asked if Carney thought it was appropriate to invite Trump for a second state visit, Carney said that was a choice for the United Kingdom and Buckingham Palace to make. "I leave the diplomacy to the U.K. government," he said. Sky News pressed Carney for an answer, saying he must have an opinion on the decision, to which Carney replied, "I have an opinion on many things, some of which I keep to myself." At his first news conference after the April 28 election, Carney announced that King Charles will travel to Canada later this month to deliver the speech from the throne on May 27. "This historic honour matches the weight of our times," Carney said then, adding that Queen Camilla would join the visit. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon issued a statement confirming the royal visit on May 26 and 27. Every new session of Parliament is opened by a throne speech, a document that lays out the government's expected direction and goals, and how it plans to achieve them. King's visit not 'a coincidence' Carney says Much attention has focused in recent weeks on Charles's role as head of state of Canada, particularly in the face of repeated taunts from Trump about it becoming the 51st state. Carney explained that he asked the King if he would visit Canada when he met with him after being sworn in as prime minister in March and that it is not accidental that the King is visiting at a time when Canada's sovereignty as a country is being challenged by the U.S. "All issues around Canadian sovereignty [that] have been accentuated by the president, what he said, they exist in normal times as well," he told Sky News. "So no, not it is not coincidental but it is also a reaffirming moment, will be a reaffirming." Starmer handed Trump the invitation for a second state visit during a visit to Washington in February, saying the president's last state visit in 2019 had been a "tremendous success."
Globe and Mail
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Carney criticizes Britain's invitation to Trump for a second state visit
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has criticized Britain's invitation to Donald Trump for a second state visit, saying it undermined his government's effort to project a united front against the U.S. president's talk of annexing Canada. Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said he wants Canada to become the 51st U.S. state, a suggestion that has angered Canadians and left Britain trying to tread a fine line between the two North American countries. Britain's King Charles is also head of state of Canada, a former British colony, and the monarch has made a number of symbolic gestures in recent months, wearing Canadian medals, planting a maple tree and referring to himself as the king of Canada. Charles, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, is also due to attend Canada's state opening of parliament on May 27, the first time a British monarch has attended the event in Ottawa since 1977. Carney, in an interview with Sky News, was asked about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's move in February to use his visit to the Oval Office to hand Trump an invitation from the monarch for an unprecedented second state visit to London. 'I think, to be frank, they (Canadians) weren't impressed by that gesture... given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty,' he said. Carney, who won a party race to become prime minister in March before he secured victory in Canada's election last month by vowing to stand up Trump, said Charles's presence in Canada later this month was by design. 'All issues around Canada's sovereignty have been accentuated by the president. So no, it's not coincidental, but it is also a reaffirming moment for Canadians,' he said. Starmer, who is trying to improve trading ties with the U.S. after Britain left the European Union, has sought to play to its strengths when dealing with Trump, talking up its security expertise, pledging higher defence spending, and offering the pomp and pageantry that comes with a state visit. Trump, whose mother was born in Britain and who has repeatedly praised the British royal family, agreed a limited bilateral trade agreement with London this month. Asked about Carney's criticism, senior British minister Pat McFadden told Sky News that every country had to decide how to conduct its relations with other countries.
