French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are set to meet Sunday to deepen economic and security ties on the remote North Atlantic archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is home to about 5,800 people. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbor and pursue deeper economic, security and political relationships with Europe. Macron welcomed the agreement Saturday.
“This is an important moment,” Macron said upon arriving Saturday in the French territory off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Talks “will allow us … to strengthen our bilateral economic ties and defense relationship,” Macron said. Macron also said Sunday’s talks are part of broader efforts to help France secure oil and gas supplies as the war with Iran disrupts global energy markets and raises fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials. The leaders will discuss deepening the Canada-France partnership in strategic sectors, including aerospace, energy, critical minerals and advanced technologies such as quantum computing, satellites and supercomputing, Carney’s office said in a statement. “Danish sovereignty is being respected, international law is being respected,” he said. “Anything that helps ease tensions is a good thing.”
