Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called on Australia to work with Canada as middle-power “strategic cousins” rather than as competitors in negotiations with the world’s superpowers.
Carney is presently visiting Australia after travelling to India as part of a broader three-country international tour that will see him visit Japan later this week. The Canadian Prime Minister met with his Australian counterpart on Thursday, releasing a joint statement and announcing that Australia joined Canada’s G7 critical minerals production alliance.
“Canada and Australia are more than friends – we are family, with shared histories, values, and cultures. As Canada forges new partnerships and coalitions abroad, Australia is a natural partner in this mission,” Carney said, as per his office.
“By working closely together in energy, critical minerals, investment, defense, and AI to move faster in these endeavors, we will create more opportunities for our peoples.”
Speaking at the Australian parliament, Carney said that, as a result of the post-war “global architecture breaking down from consecutive crises,” Canada and Australia should work as “strategic cousins” and reportedly stressed to lawmakers, “In a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favor or combine for strength.”
“In the old world, and even to a degree today, the temptation has been to see ourselves as competitors,” Carney said on Thursday, as per The Guardian.
“In this new world, we should be strategic collaborators. To boost investments, accelerate technical cooperation, enhance supply chain resilience, expand our domestic processing abilities, while boosting our strategic autonomy,” he continued.
“Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world that is changing. We cannot change it back, but we can back ourselves, back our citizens, and back each other,” Prime Minister Albanese reportedly said when introducing Carney to the parliament.
In their joint statement, Albanese and Carney expressed that Australia and Canada’s longstanding friendship is a foundation for strengthening economic, security and other forms of cooperation between the two countries, including a new “Clean Energy” partnership.
Carney announced tht Canada will elevate its critical minerals, defense, and artificial intelligence with Australia, with the Office of the Canadian Prime Minister stressing that, “In a rapidly changing world, Canada is focused on what we can control.”
The Canadian Prime Minister’s Office noted that both countries hold vast reserves of critical minerals that, according to The Guardian, represent 34 percent of global lithium stocks, 32 percent of uranium supply and 41 percent of iron ore.
The two leaders held a joint press conference after their meeting. Asked by journalists if he trusts President Donald Trump given America’s actions such as tariffs, Carney asserted Canada is in a position it has a “comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States.”
“There’s certain protocols under that agreement. If temporary tariffs or other tariffs are put in place, those have not been followed,” he said.
“So, that agreement effectively has been broken in the short term by US actions. That’s a fact that would be acknowledged, I think, by all sides,” he continued.
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