OTTAWA – In saying goodbye to his British counterpart, Prime Minister Mark Carney praised U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “someone who always acted with integrity, with determination, with collaboration, and I consider him a friend.”
Carney made the comments to CTV News as he was leaving his office on Parliament Hill Monday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Starmer announced he would be resigning as leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party and as prime minister, conceding that he had lost support of his party’s membership.
Carney said it had been a “great privilege” to work alongside Starmer, saying he helped build a historic partnership between Canada and the United Kingdom.
Starmer was also praised by Carney for his leadership of the multinational group supporting Ukraine, known as the “Coalition of the Willing.” Asked if Canada would assume a greater role with Starmer’s departure, Carney spoke of collaboration.
“He, alongside (French) President (Emmanuel) Macron and (German) Chancellor (Friedrich) Merz have brought others along,” Carney told CTV News. “Canada is very much as part of that, and we’ve stepped up my predecessor, my government, one of the biggest contributors to peace and security reconstruction, when the time comes for Ukraine”.
Carney said Canada will continue to be part of the group of more than 30 nations supplying military and financial support to Ukraine.
The Canadian prime minister also praised Starmer for his leadership in the reinforcement of NATO.
“We have deepened our co-operation in the Arctic, alongside with the United Kingdom, our Nordic partners in Germany and France,” Carney added.
In a post on X, Carney noted: “The world is safer and allies are more united because of his efforts.”
The importance of the relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom was underscored on Carney’s first international trip as prime minister. After meeting with France’s Macron in Paris, Carney went to 10 Downing Street in London for a sit down with Starmer.
The two prime ministers last saw each other at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Evain, France, last week, where cameras caught the leaders chatting before formal meetings. Carney and Starmer have had a number of bilateral meetings in the last 15 months since Carney became prime minister, and they’ve seen each other at G20 summits, NATO meetings and other international forums.
“I want to salute Prime Minister Starmer for his many contributions, and we’ll have a few more weeks of that, and I look forward to speaking with him shortly,” Carney told CTV News.
