Britain and Canada will seek to revive stalled trade negotiations, Sir Keir Starmer has indicated ahead of a meeting with Mark Carney in the lead-up to a major international summit.
The Prime Minister said the worldâs âchangingâ economy means Britain must aim to reduce barriers with other allies as he flew to Ottawa for the first visit by a UK leader to the country in eight years.
Negotiations between Britain and Canada on a post-Brexit trade agreement were halted last year under the previous Tory administration amid disputes over beef and cheese.
The Government has reached economic deals with India, the US and the EU in recent months and is looking to pursue further deals with other allies to mitigate the threat of US President Donald Trumpâs tariffs.
Sir Keir will be walking a diplomatic tightrope between strengthening bilateral relations with Ottawa and keeping the US president, who has expressed desires to annex the country as a â51st stateâ, on side.
Asked about the prospect of a trade agreement with Canada, the Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him to Ottawa on Saturday: âI want to increase our trade with Canada and I will be discussing how we do so with Mark Carney.
âI have known Mark a long time, we are allies and colleagues and I have a very good relationship with him. We do a lot of trade with Canada as it is.
âSome months ago I said the world is changing on trade and the economy, just as it is changing on defence and security and I think that means we need to be more securing our base at home and turbo-charging what we are doing on the cost of living and at the same time reducing trade barriers with other countries.
âIâve been expressing that in my discussions with Mark Carney and he is in the same position.â
The Prime Minister said the interests of British citizens would be at the heart of his conversations with all international leaders as he prepares for a week of diplomacy at the G7 summit.
The UK and Canada have a trade relationship worth ÂŁ28 billion to the British economy and are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Sir Keir will fly from Ottawa to Kananaskis in the Canadian mountains for talks with counterparts from the worldâs leading economies.
Spiralling conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine will be top of the agenda in the talks between the UK, Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan and Germany.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend.
Number 10 said the Prime Minister would use the trip to urge ârestraint and de-escalationâ after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight.
âIn these dangerous times, I am determined to forge a unique path to secure and renew Britain in an era of global instability,â he said.
Sir Keir is also expected to meet Mr Trump, with whom he said he is in the âfinal stagesâ of completing an agreed-upon US-UK trade deal, at the G7 summit.
The Prime Minister told reporters on Saturday he had a âgood relationshipâ with the US president and âthatâs importantâ.
âIâve been saying, for probably the best part of six months now, weâre in a new era of defence and security, a new era for trade and the economy,â he said.
âAnd I think itâs really important for Britain to play a leading part in that, and thatâs what Iâll be doing at the G7, talking to all of our partners in a constructive way.
âAnd Iâm very pleased that I have developed good relations with all the G7 leaders to the point where⌠I have a very good relations with all of them.â
Mr Carney has previously criticised the UK Governmentâs invitation for Mr Trump to make a second state visit, telling Sky News earlier this year that Canadians were ânot impressedâ by the gesture.
In his strongest defence yet of the nation, Sir Keir said on Saturday he was âabsolutely clearâ that Canada was an âindependent, sovereign countryâ and âquite right tooâ.
âIâm not going to get into the precise conversations Iâve had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth,â he said.
