Carney, Starmer to agree to renew Canada-U.K. trade talks, 'deepen' relationship
The U.K. will seek to restart trade negotiations with Canada, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, as he strives to strengthen commercial ties around the world to better insulate Britain's economy from the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war.
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'The world is changing on trade and the economy,' Starmer told reporters on Saturday on his way to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. 'That means we need to do 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.'
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Starmer and Carney agreed to establish a new working group to 'deepen our existing trading relationship,' with a deadline to report back in six months, according to a joint statement by the leaders Sunday. The group will be asked to deal with market access questions, and explore ways to cooperate on critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
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While the two nations reached a trade continuity deal in the wake of the U.K.'s departure from the European Union, talks for a bespoke deal to cover bilateral trade worth an annual £27.5 billion (CAD$37 billion) stalled last year after a dispute over beef, when neither Starmer nor Carney was yet in office.
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Both nations are also members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as CPTPP. Carney agreed his government will aim to introduce legislation this year to ratify the U.K.'s accession into that trade deal — a move that would lower tariffs between the countries.
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Starmer will use the G-7 summit to argue that in a shifting global economy, the U.K. must retain its proud status as a free and open trading nation by strengthening existing alliances while reducing barriers to trade with other countries, his office said.
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A trade deal with Canada was not listed as a priority for the U.K. government last year, when Trade Minister Douglas Alexander named agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey as the areas his department was focusing on. But Trump's return to the White House and his ratcheting up of tariffs against countries around the world has forced UK negotiators to recalibrate — seeking exemptions from the U.S. levies while also casting a wider net in their search for new deals.
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Canada was the 13th biggest destination for U.K. exports in 2024, taking in £16.9 billion ($31.3 billion) of British goods and services, according to U.K. statistics. It was the 17th biggest source of imports into Britain, with goods and services worth £10.6 billion ($19.6 billion) crossing the Atlantic.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg conference explores need for fostering hope
How can we tackle the challenges facing the world today and work towards a more positive future? How do we find hope to promote and sustain collective action? What role can diverse faith traditions play in helping Canada face the most pressing demands of our time? Those were topics addressed at the June 15-17 Our Whole Society Conference at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights here in Winnipeg. The theme of the conference, which was sponsored by the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, was Fostering Hope in a Divided World. For Héctor A. Acero Ferrer, one of the conference organizers, the event was an opportunity 'to build robust dialogue between religious traditions about their role in society' and a way to 'build connections across divides in the world.' Rocky Baronins is the community relations committee chair for the Manitoba Multifaith Council and one of the supporters of the conference. For him, the conference was a way to bring thought leaders from across Canada together for 'deep conversations about the challenges facing the world today.' One of those thought leaders was Payam Akhavan, a Canadian human rights lawyer. Speaking at the opening plenary, Akhavan said the world is facing an onslaught of rage that is imperiling a 'vision for a shared humanity.' Despite this, Akhavan said he sees hope as people work together to defuse anger and resist efforts to dehumanize others. These 'actions on the ground,' where people actively reach out to others, can counter fear about the future — despite how challenging the situation seems to be. 'We discover resilience when we confront despair,' he said, noting people must resist messages that dehumanize others like refugees and immigrants, or those who have different political opinions. This dehumanization 'needs to be confronted more than ever,' Akhavan said. A member of the Baha'i faith, Akhavan added that spirituality is an important part of that confrontation — through service. 'We must show compassion and concern for others,' he said, adding that by serving others we can 'save our own souls.' Lloyd Axworthy, long-time federal politician and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996-2000, spoke the following day about finding hope in a fractious world. For him, hope is a 'moral summons, an imperative' that grows out of core beliefs such as his Christian faith as a member of the United Church of Canada. One of those core beliefs for Axworthy is the requirement to serve others and seek the best for them — something that helped guide him when making difficult decisions on the international stage. When it comes to bringing faith into politics, Axworthy said he was not 'naïve' about how challenging that can be. But, he said, 'we need courageous people' who are willing to go into politics and 'make choices based on their faith or spirituality.' Despite the challenges facing the world today, 'we still have to commit to building a better future,' he stated, adding it is an unsettling time for many since the old world order is disappearing, partly due to the actions of Donald Trump, 'while the new one is not yet born.' It won't be easy to see this new order be born, Axworthy said, but he believes it can be done as people 'exercise their faith and hope in a risky way.' The final keynote speaker was Elin Kelsey, author of the book Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis. She spoke about finding hope despite the current environmental crisis. Citing a survey that showed nearly half of people 16 to 25 reported feeling distressed or anxious about climate change in a way that was affecting their daily lives and functioning, Kelsey placed fault at the feet of the media for mainly reporting on the detrimental effects of climate change while ignoring the many ways people around the world are addressing it and finding solutions. 'Less than three per cent of media stories about climate change even include a mention of a solution,' she said, adding this kind of reporting can lead to anxiety, cynicism and apathy. For her, the climate crisis is as much a 'crisis of hope' as it is about the actual challenges posed by a changing climate for the planet. And, she added, when people feel hopeless they then feel disempowered. But, Kelsey said, when people are offered stories about positive ways climate change is being addressed, they feel hopeful about the possibility of change. This doesn't mean ignoring what she called 'pain stories' about the negative impact of climate change. 'We can tell those stories, but we don't need to stop there,' Kelsey said. 'We should also look for stories about where things are moving in a positive direction.' At the same time, Kelsey didn't minimize the nature of the climate crisis. But she chooses to be hopeful. 'It's a choice,' she said, that can translate into action. 'Hope is not complacent. It is a powerful political act.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
With loss upon loss, I'm truly at a loss
Opinion I wonder if everyone, as they age, develops a feeling of terminal loss not just for people we've known, but for places, too. I've seen it in others, and sometimes, it's quite pronounced: the sense all the good is washing out of the world, leaving only bones. But I didn't expect to feel it so keenly myself, so soon and on so many fronts. In the last six months or so, I've written about the loss of dear friends, the loss of a property in a wildfire, and the loss of my ability to travel, with a clear conscience, to parts of the United States — notably, parts of the western desert like the Black Rock Desert — I have visited many times and dearly love. Now, I feel like I'm getting to be one of the many witnesses to irreversible change that's only speeding up. Russell Wangersky/Free Press The Black Rock Desert at sunset The latest little click of that clock? A budget bill addition in the U.S. Senate that will order the sale of millions of acres of public lands in western states, effectively to the highest bidder. The bill, if passed, will order the sale of lands currently held by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Forest System in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington state and Wyoming. It's ostensibly to build housing. Truth be told, though, it's probably designed to be for the profit of the modern-day carpetbaggers and robber barons, the people who have the money to snap up under-priced public assets and convert them for their own profit or pleasure. Guardrails are few. Most of the legal requirements of the sales are set or defined by the decision of cabinet appointees. Like: 'A tract of covered Federal land disposed of under this section shall be used solely for the development of housing or to address associated community needs as defined by the Secretary concerned.' Now, there's a gap you can drive a bus through. And the plan has some interesting features: it wants to give priority for sale to federal lands that are close to existing infrastructure, adjacent to developed areas and suitable for residential development — which all sounds good for building housing — but the government only expects to collect US$10 billion in revenue, meaning the property is expected to sell in the range of US$3,030 an acre. That's startling. The average cost of developable land in the U.S. runs at around US$18,000 an acre, and developable land adjacent to already-developed areas and close to existing infrastructure can hit US$100,000 an acre. So someone's going to make a lot more money than the U.S. Treasury will on this deal. Russell Wangersky/Free Press Deer Creek, near the Modoc National Forest As a percentage, the amounts of the land sales are small — just 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent of the lands held by the two agencies. But just that tiny fraction of federal land holdings is equal to 2.2 million to 3.3 million acres of federal lands — in Canadian terms, at the high end, 2.4 times the size of Prince Edward Island. It makes you think that many in government — both in the U.S. and Canada — spend little time in the outdoors, and more time calculating measurable short-term economic returns. That's very much the way Republicans seem to be pitching the selloff: Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee argued the move would turn 'federal liabilities into taxpayer value,' tacitly voicing the concept that forest lands have value only as a commodity, and that stewarding them for future generations is necessarily a loss. And don't get me started on the sales of wood from existing U.S. National Forest lands — the bill also would increase cutting, saying, 'For each of fiscal years 2026 through 2034, the Secretary shall sell timber annually on National Forest System land in a total quantity that is not less than 250,000,000 board-feet greater than the quantity of board-feet sold in the previous fiscal year.' By fiscal 2028, that would be a 25 per cent annual increase in wood cut on National Forest land. It's funny — when I think about the quiet beauty of the Modoc National Forest in California, walking on the deep cushioned mat of pine needles beneath the huge trees, the air hanging still in a way that engenders something close to reverence, I don't think of how much more valuable it would be as a housing development or mall, or even how much the wood is worth. Heading up to the Fandango Pass above Goose Lake, Calif., even travelling through the recovering burn scar of a forest fire that raced up the western face of the mountains of the Warner Range, the wildflowers rampant with all the new sunlight that's now cast down beneath and through the burnt-black pines, I don't think of board-feet of lumber. In the Black Rock Desert, I see the great open skies and the shoulders of the hills, not mineral reserves waiting to be harvested. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. Why, some might say, it's only a trim around the edges of natural reserves. There's lots. Russell Wangersky/Free Press View through the Fandango Pass, California Until there isn't. And once gone, many things never come back. I think that's something you learn for keeps as you grow older. Russell Wangersky is the Comment Editor at the Free Press. He can be reached at Russell WangerskyPerspectives editor Russell Wangersky is Perspectives Editor for the Winnipeg Free Press, and also writes editorials and columns. He worked at newspapers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan before joining the Free Press in 2023. A seven-time National Newspaper Award finalist for opinion writing, he's also penned eight books. Read more about Russell. Russell oversees the team that publishes editorials, opinions and analysis — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Japan Forward
3 hours ago
- Japan Forward
G7: Stop Wavering in This 50th Anniversary Year
Canada hosted the just-concluded 2025 Group of Seven summit in its western Rocky Mountain region on June 15-17. This year, the leaders faced headwinds in the global economy due to the United States' tariff policies. As well, the international situation was increasingly tense due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. In the uncertain atmosphere, the leaders of the G7 nations shelved a comprehensive summit declaration. They also failed to issue a joint statement on the situation in Ukraine. American opposition to language criticizing Russia was one factor in the failure to agree on common positions. Along with it, they could not bridge the gap between Washington and Europe over issues such as the need for stronger sanctions against Moscow. The consequential lack of results from the summit was very disappointing. US President Donald Trump attends a G7 discussion leaders' summit in Kananaskis, western Canada on June 16. (Pool photo by Kyodo) This year's gathering marked the 50th anniversary of the first summit of the then-Group of Six Industrialized Nations in 1975. At that time membership in the G6 consisted of the United States, four European nations, and Japan. The G7 is an important forum for maintaining the international order and building consensus among democracies. Failure to reach consensus this time has left the impression that unity within the group has been wavering. President Trump suddenly returned to the United States on the first day of the summit to deal with the situation in the Middle East. He then convened a National Security Council meeting at the White House. That was unavoidable, as the President is Commander-in-Chief of the US military. However, the problem is that Trump failed to understand the value of the G7. During a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said it was a "serious mistake" to exclude Russia from the G8 in 2014. At the time, the group had been an expanded version of the G7. Russia was then excluded from the group due to its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine in the same year. Trump has also said that adding China to the G7 might not be a bad idea. Such remarks could be seen as a sign that the US President does not envision the G7 confronting authoritarian countries. G7 leaders including PM Ishiba attend a discussion with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, in Kananaskis, western Canada, on the June 17. (©Kyodo) The leaders of Japan, Europe and Canada must strive to ensure that Trump fully understands the significance of the G7. In Kananaskis, the talks went ahead without Trump in attendance but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was included. Nonetheless, the group fell short in its effort to adopt a firm collective stance that could maximize pressure on Russia and force it to end its war of aggression. Summit members, however, did declare their commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. That included affirming their unwillingness to allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. They also issued a separate statement on the supply chains for critical minerals such as rare earths. It is fair to say that the G7 has just managed to preserve its relevance. In his opening remarks Carney summed the situation up as follows: "We're meeting at one of those hinge moments, those turning points in history. The world's more divided and dangerous." It is precisely because we live in such an era of unprecedented turmoil and crisis that we should look to the G7 to play a leading role. Japan and Europe have a responsibility to work to keep close ties with the United States and maintain unity. (Read the editorial in Japanese .) Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun
