OTTAWA, September 15 — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney begins a three-day European swing on Tuesday, travelling to Strasbourg, France, and Liverpool, United Kingdom, through September 17, 2026, in a push to deepen Canada’s ties with European partners on trade, investment, security, defence, energy, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. The itinerary places Carney inside the two central institutions of the European Union on the same day. At the invitation of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, he will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
He will also attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address and meet members of the European Parliament. That Strasbourg leg puts a Canadian prime minister in the room during the EU’s flagship annual policy speech — a scheduling choice that signals how far Ottawa is willing to embed itself in European decision-making.
First meeting with Burnham in Liverpool
Carney then crosses to Liverpool for his first meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham. The two leaders will discuss priorities for the Canada-UK relationship, specifically defence and security, energy, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. The Liverpool stop opens a first direct leader-level channel between Carney and Burnham.
For Ottawa, that matters: the Canada-UK file spans the same four areas — defence, energy, AI, and critical minerals — that sit at the centre of Western industrial and security planning. The trip builds on a series of steps Canada has taken to deepen its European relationships since Carney formed government.
Last year, Canada launched the New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future and the Security and Defence Partnership to deepen cooperation across trade, technology, energy, and security. In February, Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, which the government says unlocked hundreds of millions of dollars in opportunities and market access for Canadian defence industries, businesses, and workers. In May, Carney became the first non-European leader to participate in the European Political Community Summit, held in Armenia.
Momentum toward the October summit
Canada will build on that momentum when it hosts the upcoming Canada-EU Summit from October 29 to 30, 2026. The Strasbourg and Liverpool visits precede it by roughly six weeks, giving Carney a chance to set the agenda before European leaders arrive on Canadian soil. In a statement released with the travel announcement, Carney said: “In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada and our European partners are moving ever closer.
Our shared values, complementary strengths, and common interests serve as the strong foundation on which we can build a stronger future. Together, Canada and our European partners have the ambition and strength to create a more just, stable, and universally prosperous world.” The government framed the trip around its stated approach of building strength at home and diversifying partnerships abroad, describing European allies as natural partners bound by shared history, values, and increasingly shared interests and ambitions.
Strategically, the calculus is straightforward. Carney’s government has spent its time in office converting bilateral goodwill into institutional membership — SAFE in February, the European Political Community Summit in May, and now a prime ministerial address to the European Parliament. Each step narrows the distance between Ottawa and Brussels on the files that define Western industrial capacity.
What to watch next is whether the Liverpool meeting produces concrete deliverables on defence and critical minerals before the Canada-EU Summit opens in late October. The three-day visit ends September 17.
