British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is visiting Ottawa today ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta.
The summit starts Sunday against a backdrop of mounting tensions and violence in the Middle East triggered by Israel’s attack on Iranian missile and nuclear sites on Friday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is hosting the summit, will welcome Starmer tonight in Ottawa and the two will meet Sunday morning before both leave for Alberta.
Britain and Canada have deep ties in defence, climate and culture sectors, but Starmer’s visit comes amid strained trade negotiations.
The two countries have been operating using an interim deal since April 2021 after Britain left the European Union.
A year later, both countries launched talks for a permanent deal, but London suspended negotiations in January 2024. The two have been at an impasse, with Britain blocking hormone-treated beef from Canada and U.K. farmers calling for exporting more cheese to Canada.
Ottawa says the U.K. failed to negotiate part of the European Union’s cheese-export quota in Canada when it left the bloc, saying Canada does not intend to open more of its supply-management dairy sector to the continent.
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Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu met with his British counterpart Jonathan Reynolds last week, and only mentioned expanding trade in the temporary post-Brexit deal in Ottawa’s summary of the talks.
But Sidhu’s spokesman says the two did discuss resuming negotiations.
“Canada has always remained at the negotiating table and we welcome the U.K.’s openness to resume talks,” wrote Huzaif Qaisar.
“We are actively working with the U.K. to address and resolve key trade irritants, strengthening our already strong bilateral relationship.”
Both countries have also taken an increasingly sharp tone in statements about Israel’s restrictions on food aid reaching Gaza and the expansion of West Bank settlements — statements which have prompted pushback from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, Starmer and Carney are all expected to arrive Sunday in Alberta.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
