French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday called for stronger bilateral ties in the face of new global threats at a meeting on Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory off Canada's Newfoundland. The first-ever visit by a Canadian leader to the North Atlantic archipelago came as both countries have increasingly awkward relations with the US.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Canada were "two great independent nations who want to stay that way" in a joint news conference with Canadian leader Mark Carney Sunday.
Carney, visiting France's tiny North Atlantic territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon just off the Canadian coast, said the moment had come to tighten links with France and the European Union.
The leaders' meeting, in the tiny overseas French territory off the coast of Canada's Newfoundland came as both countries have increasingly awkward relations with the US under President Donald Trump.
The meeting came days after Carney embraced the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union’s first associate member, saying closer ties with the continent would ensure no country could control Canada’s markets or undermine its sovereignty.
Trump’s tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbour and pursue deeper economic, security and political relationships with Europe.
At a joint press conference in Saint Pierre and Miquelon on Sunday, Macron said the two countries would work together for closer ties on fishing, security and energy.
"We both believe in democracy, the rule of law, respect for international law, respect for free and fair trade, science as the basis for our decisions, and the strategic autonomy that we defend," he said.
Carney called for joint action to counter new challenges. "Our societies are being shaken by new storms: the upheavals, caused by climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, and new threats to our sovereignty," he said. "The time has come to strengthen our ties."
Fuel, critical minerals and rare earths
Earlier Sunday, Macron posted a video on X of him welcoming Carney at the airport.
"In a world in crisis, our friendship is a strength," said Macron. "Together, we affirm our sovereignty, our freedom to decide and our willingness to build a future of peace and prosperity," he added.
Macron also said that Sunday’s talks are part of broader efforts to help France secure oil and gas supplies as the Iran war disrupts global energy markets and raises fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials.
“Canada is a country with significant resources of critical minerals and rare earths. It is also a major oil and natural gas producer,” Macron said. “What we want to do is conclude agreements to secure more liquefied natural gas that can be shipped to Europe’s Atlantic coast.”
The visit came weeks after Trump posted an image that showed the US flag draped over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and was labelled "United States of America".
It included Saint Pierre and Miquelon and French Caribbean territories.
Sunday’s meeting followed Trump’s announcement of a deal on Greenland that would expand the US military presence there while keeping the island under Danish control. The agreement followed months of threats by Trump to seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.
Macron welcomed the agreement Saturday.
“Danish sovereignty is being respected, international law is being respected,” he said. “Anything that helps ease tensions is a good thing.”
Visit of symbolic weight
Diplomats said the visit by Macron, who was en route to the annual UN General Assembly of world leaders, had a symbolic weight following Trump's social media post.
France did not respond publicly to the post at the time.
For France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon is strategically important due to its location on the doorstep of the US and the Arctic, a French presidency official told reporters in a briefing ahead of the visit.
The territory also occupies a key place in France's cooperation with Canada, including over energy, one of the issues in focus for the meeting on Sunday between Macron and Carney.
Macron, whose government is facing increased pressure at home over rising fuel prices, said he would like Canada to broaden its exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe rather than primarily Asia.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
