French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged closer ties on Sunday as they sought to strengthen cooperation on geopolitical tensions, climate change, energy and the protection of democratic values.
The two leaders met in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast. The visit was the first by a French president to the territory since 2014 and the first by a Canadian prime minister.
Carney said the two countries were facing challenges including climate change, pressure on democratic norms and threats to sovereignty, adding that the time had come to strengthen their ties.
Macron said France and Canada had agreed to expand cooperation across sectors including space, climate and energy. He also highlighted their shared support for democracy, the rule of law, international law and free trade.
The meeting comes as Canada seeks to deepen its relationship with the European Union amid an increasingly strained trade relationship with the United States.
The leaders' meeting also carried symbolic significance following a recent social media post by US President Donald Trump showing a map of North America and surrounding regions covered by the US flag.
The image included Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, as well as French territories in the Caribbean. Asked about the post, Macron rejected any suggestion that the territories' status as French could be questioned.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has strategic importance for France because of its location near Canada and the United States and its links to French cooperation with Canada, including on energy.
Macron said the talks could lead to bilateral discussions on concrete agreements, including energy. France is seeking greater Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, with Macron saying Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects could contribute to European energy supplies.
The two leaders also discussed Canada's relationship with the EU after the bloc opened the possibility of Ottawa becoming its first associate member. Macron said France supported the idea.
However, deeper EU-Canada integration could face obstacles. More than a decade after the EU and Canada agreed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and nine years after its provisional application began, several EU member states have yet to ratify the accord, including France.
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