Carney takes Canada’s trade push to 56 nations

Prime Minister Mark Carney is in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, for his first Commonwealth summit, pushing leaders of 56 countries to double trade inside the bloc. In one packed day he hosted Caribbean leaders at breakfast, met host Prime Minister Gaston Browne, and joined King Charles III’s opening events. Canada already trades over $100 billion with Commonwealth partners, as Ottawa diversifies beyond the United States.

• • This is Carney’s first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. His visit lasts one day — he is due back in Ottawa tonight, ahead of Thursday’s federal budget.
• • Canada wants Commonwealth countries to commit to doubling trade among themselves. Trade inside the bloc is already worth almost $1 trillion, and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the Commonwealth has an ambitious target of $2 trillion in internal trade by 2030.
• • Canada alone does more than $100 billion in trade with Commonwealth countries. Canada is the bloc’s second-largest financial contributor and its third-largest economy.
• • Carney’s day began with a working breakfast he hosted for Caribbean leaders, then a meeting with host Prime Minister Gaston Browne on trade, investment, energy, climate resilience and tourism. Meetings with the leaders of Australia, Guyana and Ghana and two leaders’ executive sessions were also on his schedule.
• • King Charles III opened the summit in St. John’s, calling the transatlantic slave trade a shameful chapter that still casts a shadow, and expressing profound personal sorrow — while stopping short of a formal apology. Britain’s government is opening talks on a formal apology, has ruled out reparations, and is proposing a “debt reset” for Commonwealth countries plus £40 million for Caribbean infrastructure.
• • Climate help for small island states is part of Canada’s pitch: Ottawa highlighted $4.65 million over three years for the Commonwealth’s climate finance access hub, on top of a $13 billion commitment over five years to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
• • The summit’s theme is “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.” Its 56 countries represent 2.7 billion people, and a Commonwealth investment platform has lined up more than 60 projects worth over $30 billion, looking for funding.

Sources: CBC News, CTV News, Global News, BBC News, Reuters, PA Media

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