Carney heads to Commonwealth summit to build ties, boost trade

OTTAWA · Prime Minister Mark Carney is travelling to Antigua and Barbuda on Monday for a one-day Commonwealth summit, where he will meet with King Charles and dozens of world leaders. The gathering of 56 nations is focused on expanding trade and investment, with Canada aiming to rebuild influence with smaller states. Carney will also host a working breakfast with Caribbean leaders and hold a bilateral meeting with Antigua's prime minister to discuss a new economic agreement. Retired Canadian diplomat Patricia Fortier called the event a "diplomatic feast." She said the Commonwealth offers Canada a crucial platform to engage with countries it might not otherwise visit, from large members like the United Kingdom and India to small island states like Tuvalu. "If you're trying to move things through a multilateral organization, it is very, very important that you pay attention to smaller states," Fortier said. "The Caribbean and Africa and some of the Pacific Island states can make or break your initiatives."

Canadian government officials described the meeting as a platform to expand trade, investment and strategic co-operation. They noted Canada currently has $100 billion in trade with Commonwealth countries. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, who is joining Carney, said Canada "supports practical Commonwealth initiatives that strengthen supply chains and improve market access, that advance trade diversification." She added the Commonwealth has "ambitious targets" to increase trade among its members to $2 trillion by 2030.

Michael Manulak, an associate professor at Carleton University, said trade and investment will be the top issue. "There's going to be a lot of discussion about concrete ways of reducing barriers to trade," he said. Commonwealth Secretary General Shirley Botchwey has been pushing for this focus since she stepped into the role in 2025, Manulak added. Carney's schedule includes a lunch and a formal dinner hosted by King Charles, executive sessions and other meetings.

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In a specific bilateral meeting, Carney will sit down with Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Antigua's high commissioner to Canada, Ronald Sanders, said Browne will propose a bilateral agreement that "could see joint ventures and activities that promote economic growth and create commercial opportunities for Canadian enterprises." Sanders said there was a time when Canada could count on automatic support from Caribbean nations at the United Nations, a relationship that faded as Canada moved closer to the United States and Mexico. "We would hope that we can rebuild that relationship now," he said. Climate change resilience and mitigation will also be a key focus, officials said, given many Commonwealth members are island states facing rising seas. "Given that many of these smaller states are islands and are most affected by climate change, I think that will also be something that will come up," Fortier said. Sanders noted the Commonwealth was where early discussions about climate change began and said the group has acted collectively on major issues like helping to end apartheid in South Africa.

King Charles is expected to address the legacy of slavery at the meeting. Officials did not directly answer whether Carney will participate in those discussions. Manulak said Caribbean countries "naturally feel differently about this issue" than the British, who are reluctant to accept blame and potential financial implications. "Being in the Caribbean, this is going to be a really live issue," he said. Tamanisha John, a politics professor at York University, predicted Canada will stay quiet and, if pressed, support the U.K. government's position, which opposes reparations.

Before the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Carney will host a working breakfast with Caribbean leaders to discuss trade, climate action and regional security. Fortier noted the long-standing special relationship between Canada and the Caribbean, rooted in shared colonial heritage and trade. John pointed out that Canada's banks have a strong presence in the region, which gives Canada a voice in guiding development. She said, "The financial system that Canada sets up in the Caribbean acts in these very sort of discriminatory ways that end up empowering … North American corporations."

With files from The Canadian Press, CityNews and The Globe and Mail