In a move that signals Canada’s deepening pivot toward European security partnerships, Prime Minister Mark Carney stood alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at the storied Palais de l’Élysée on Friday and unveiled a sweeping new general security of information agreement between the two nations one that could reshape how Canadian defence firms compete on the world stage.
The deal, which forms the centrepiece of what appears to be a fast-warming bilateral relationship, will allow the two countries to share classified information across their defence, space, artificial intelligence, and aerospace industries. For Canadian companies long accustomed to looking south for contracts, it throws open a new door into the lucrative French procurement market.
“Businesses in both of our countries are doing more together, in energy, defence, critical minerals and now in artificial intelligence,” Carney told reporters, framing the agreement not just as a diplomatic milestone but as an economic one.
Friday’s announcement does not stand alone. It builds on Canada’s recent entry into Europe’s SAFE Instrument a €150 billion EU loan program designed to fast-track defence procurement across the bloc. Canada’s participation, unusual for a non-EU member, grants it preferential access to contracts financed under the program, a meaningful advantage in an era when European nations are scrambling to rearm.
Together, the two moves paint a picture of a Canadian government determined to cement itself as a trusted partner in European security architecture at a time when transatlantic relationships are being tested and renegotiated.
Carney’s visit to Paris was at least the seventh face-to-face meeting between him and Macron since the Canadian leader took office in March 2025 a remarkably high frequency for two heads of government separated by an ocean. The two leaders discussed trade flows, energy cooperation, and the sourcing of critical minerals, as well as France’s recent purchase of two de Havilland water bombers manufactured in Calgary, Alberta.
That last detail a Canadian-made aircraft chosen by France was more than a footnote. It was a symbol of the practical, commerce-driven dimension of a relationship that has been growing quietly but steadily.
The timing of Carney’s Paris trip is no accident. The G7 leaders’ summit kicks off Monday in Évian-les-Bains, with France holding the presidency this year after passing the baton from Canada in January. The summit, running from June 15 to 17, is expected to grapple with major geopolitical fault lines the war in Ukraine chief among them as well as the perennial question of how to manage an unpredictable United States.
When a reporter asked whether Carney offered Macron any tips on dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Canadian prime minister deflected with a touch of diplomatic generosity.
“Obviously he’s an extremely experienced statesman,” Carney said of Macron, adding that the French president’s directness makes him well suited to navigate difficult conversations with G7 counterparts, including Trump.
Senator Peter Boehm, a veteran of six G7 summits under prime ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, said the pre-summit bilateral offered the two leaders space to align their strategies before the main event. He expects Carney to demonstrate what he called “pragmatic diplomacy” a style the new prime minister road-tested on the global stage at Davos earlier this year, when his speech about the dangers of great power rivalry and Canada’s push to diversify beyond U.S. trade won widespread international attention.
Boehm also noted that the Évian summit will be Macron’s tenth and final G7 gathering as president, given that his second term ends in May 2027.
One unusual feature of this year’s summit: there will be no single, comprehensive final communiqué from leaders. Instead, individual, issue-specific statements will be released throughout the event a decision that Boehm said is almost certainly tied to the presence of Donald Trump at the table.
“What’s the point of trying to get consensus when what you’re doing is watering down what you’ve got and then you’re not credible,” Boehm said bluntly.
Carney acknowledged on Friday that some G7 partners hold “more extreme” views on certain issues than others though he was careful not to name names. He pushed back against the notion of a “G6 plus one” dynamic, insisting that all seven leaders are genuinely working toward common ground.
Defence cooperation was not the only topic on the table. Both Carney and Macron touched on the shared challenge of protecting children in digital spaces an area where the two countries are moving in similar directions.
France enacted legislation this year setting a minimum social media age of 15. Canada followed suit this week, with the Liberal government introducing Bill C-34, which would block children under 16 from accessing social media platforms and impose new responsibilities on companies running AI chatbots including requirements to manage harmful content and provide crisis protocols related to self-harm and suicide.
Macron, visibly pleased, took to social media the day before the meeting to welcome the Canadian bill, writing simply: “Thanks for joining the movement.”
Bill C-34 also signals that Canada is beginning to treat AI governance not just as a technology issue but as a public safety one.
Looking past the summit, Carney also touched on the volatile situation in the Middle East, saying Canada stands ready to help maintain freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
“Canada will look to do our part so that we can support a broader effort if the moment is presenting itself,” he said, adding that any durable resolution must include Lebanon.
France is already Canada’s third-largest merchandise export market within the European Union and its fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment. The new security of information agreement, combined with Canada’s entry into the SAFE Instrument, suggests that relationship is entering a more strategic phase one driven not just by trade flows and shared history, but by a recognition that the security architecture of the coming decades is being built right now, and Canada wants a seat at the table.
As the G7 convenes on the shores of Lake Geneva, the Paris meeting this week will likely be remembered as one of the quieter but consequential diplomatic moves of Carney’s early tenure.
