Mark Carney's priorities at this year's Commonwealth Summit
While Americans vote on their future, Canada’s PM locks in on alternative partnerships
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PM → vote → partnerships
Prime Minister Mark Carney's oft-stated determination to keep his government focused on what Canadians can control could be tested today, as he meets with leaders from the 55 other member countries of the Commonwealth in Antigua.
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he → state → Antigua
As he boarded his flight with his wife Diana on Monday, Carney gestured as if he couldn't hear reporters yelling for clarification on where things stand following his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend.
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things → board → weekend
Trade negotiations could return to a full boil, but for now they remain on a back burner while the White House focuses on the verdict about to be rendered by American voters in their midterm elections.
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House → return → elections
The future of the Canada-U.S. relationship hangs so heavy over the Carney government's agenda that it could be hard to focus on anything else.
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it → hang → anything
But this week's Commonwealth talks are the first in a series of multilateral summits this month where Canadian officials will pursue alternative partnerships in trade, security and diplomacy.
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officials → pursue → trade
Here are five things to watch for:
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things → watch → ?
1. Push to double intra-Commonwealth trade
The Commonwealth has three main priorities leading up to 2030: democratic resilience, economic resilience and environmental resilience.
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Commonwealth → double → 2030
On that first priority, ministers, including Foreign Minister Anita Anand, met Sunday to welcome the restoration of an elected government in Gabon, the central African country which had its membership partially suspended following a military coup in 2023.
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membership → include → 2023
But the main focus at this summit is trade partnerships: specifically the association's ambition to lower trade barriers and double trade between member countries by the time they meet for their next biennial summit.
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they → lower → summit
That dovetails perfectly with the Carney government's attempt to pivot away from the U.S.
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"I think people don't realize the economic clout of the Commonwealth.
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people → dovetail → Commonwealth
's almost a trillion dollars of trade," said Arif Lalani, a former diplomat who served as a senior official the last time a Canadian prime minister attended the Commonwealth Summit, in 2022.
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minister → say → 2022
"There are studies which show that it's cheaper to do business between Commonwealth countries because we have the same practices, same language, generally the same set of regulations.
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we → be → regulations
So it's definitely a place to pursue the economic diversification agenda," Lalani said.
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Lalani → pursue → agenda
His fear, however, is that the Commonwealth's "relevance is growing faster than its capacity to deliver.
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relevance → grow → capacity
"
Leaders need to get more outcome-oriented on trade, he said.
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he → need → trade
He agrees with Carney's efforts to expand this focus to defence and security co-operation too.
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He → agree → operation
At a time when conflicts over choke points like the Strait of Hormuz are restricting global trade, "Commonwealth countries have a lot of coastline, they have strong navies, and so I think there's something that can be done to increase maritime co-operation," Lalani said.
2. Evolving Caribbean relationships
This is Carney's first trip to the Caribbean as prime minister.
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This → restrict → minister
That diplomatic deficiency will be addressed this morning in a bilateral meeting with this year's Commonwealth host, Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Browne, followed by a working breakfast Canada is hosting for all the Caribbean leaders attending this year's summit.
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Canada → address → summit
While not a complete gathering of CARICOM leaders, officials briefed reporters that this breakfast is a chance to discuss trade and investment, climate action and regional security.
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breakfast → brief → trade
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Diana Fox Carney are met by a greeting party as they arrive in Antigua.
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they → meet → Antigua
Vandana Kattar, who worked in the prime minister's office under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, says Carney's approach so far makes sense to her.
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approach → work → her
"Multilateralism is important to him," she said.
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she → say → him
Carney went after some of the bigger pieces of his puzzle first, she reckons — pursuing the "low-hanging fruit" of a closer relationship with Europe, attempting to resolve tariff tensions with China.
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she → go → China
"Those are big pieces of the puzzle that he's been able to put together," she said.
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she → put → that
But he also needs to fit smaller pieces into that puzzle, like nurturing Canada's relationships in the Caribbean, "otherwise that doesn't complete the whole picture."
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that → need → picture
3. Climate finance commitments
"You can't go to the Caribbean countries and not talk of climate resiliency," Kattar said.
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Kattar → go → resiliency
"They're the ones impacted the most."
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They → impact → ?
Canada's already contributed $4.65 million over three years to the Commonwealth's climate finance access hub to help small island states.
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Canada → contribute → states
It's also made a bigger $13-billion commitment to support all developing countries adapt to the consequences of climate change — like stronger and more frequent hurricanes — over the next five years.
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countries → make → years
Netherlands must cut CO2 to protect Caribbean island of Bonaire, court rules
- Video
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court → cut → Bonaire
Small island nations want largest emitters to pay for catastrophic effects of climate change
Canada hopes to amplify the voices of smaller Commonwealth partners on climate issues, officials told reporters prior to the trip.
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officials → want → trip
"That's what actually builds the trust, and that's what ensures that Canada is seen as a reliable and a trustworthy partner that actually listens to the concerns of their partners and [is] not just forcing their own agenda onto them," said Climate Action Network's Soomin Han.
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Han → build → them
Han believes conversations on climate financing between big and small Commonwealth partners might be more productive than at United Nations climate conferences, where a few large countries can block progress.
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countries → believe → progress
"Countries should not have to take out more debt simply to survive a crisis they contributed comparatively little to creating," she said.
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she → have → crisis
While the Commonwealth has 56 members, King Charles is the head of state in only 15 of them.
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Charles → have → them
Half of those are Caribbean countries, and for the week leading up to this summit, he's been touring the region, amid ongoing political pressure for the Crown and the government of the United Kingdom to apologize for its historical role profiting off the slave trade in British colonies.
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Crown → lead → colonies
So far, the King has acknowledged "the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond," but he has not apologized.
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he → acknowledge → islands
Canadian officials briefing reporters prior to the trip said Canada acknowledges the generational and lasting impact of slavery, and supports "open and respectful dialogue" on reparations, but noted there are a "diversity" of perspectives on reparatory justice among Commonwealth members.
Nicholas Marcus Thompson, an advocate for reparations for Canada's Black communities, says the current U.K. government's opposition to negotiating reparations for slavery is "simply a non-starter" for Caribbean nations.
"Reparations is not giving away a freebie.
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Reparations → brief → freebie
It's repaying what you took, right?
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you → repay → what
…and 6 more, not listed.
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