Canada agrees to ratify Britain’s accession to major trans-Pacific trade pact

Canada has agreed to ratify Britain’s accession to a major trans-Pacific trade pact as Sir Keir Starmer and Mark Carney sought to revive talks on a stalled bilateral deal.

Ottawa will seek to introduce legislation to its parliament this autumn to approve Britain’s entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The UK joined the bloc in 2024, but Canada is yet to formally endorse its membership – meaning British exports to the country are not covered by the reduction in tariffs outlined in the pact.

Following a bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and his Canadian counterpart in Ottawa’s Parliament Hill on Sunday, Downing Street said the move would bring “huge benefits” to UK businesses.

The two leaders will also look to work through sticking points in a rollover British-Canadian trade deal after negotiations were suspended under the previous Tory government amid disputes over beef and cheese.

Number 10 said a “joint taskforce” would be set up to “turbocharge progress on other areas of mutual benefit, including technology and artificial intelligence – in support of shared growth and our national security”.

“The taskforce will also look to make progress on the wider UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement,” Downing Street said.

Mr Carney’s office said they had also agreed on a partnership to strengthen collaboration on AI safety between the Canadian AI Safety Institute and the UK AI Security Institute.

UK-Canada trade talks snagged before the election last year amid concerns among Canadian farmers over a UK ban on hormone-treated beef and import levies hiked on British cheese.

But Downing Street said on Sunday that the Government’s “red lines” on food standards, which remain in place under its recently-agreed trade deal with the US, would not shift.

The Government has reached economic agreements with India, the US and the EU in recent months and is looking to pursue further deals with other allies to mitigate the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The talks between Sir Keir and Mr Carney, which followed a private dinner on Saturday evening and a pint in an Ottawa pub where the pair watched a game of ice hockey, are a clear show of support from the UK premier ahead of the G7 summit in Kananaskis next week.

The Prime Minister will be walking a diplomatic tightrope in the coming days as he seeks to strengthen bilateral relations with Canada while keeping the US president, who has repeatedly threatened to annex the country, on side.

In warm words at the top of Sunday’s meeting, Sir Keir appeared to issue a veiled challenge to Mr Trump’s call to turn the nation into a “51st state”.

“For years, we’ve worked together as Commonwealth members, as independent, democratic sovereign countries, working alongside each other on issues of security, defence, trade, the economy, you name it,” he said.

“We think alike, we work alike, and I think that’s not just a reflection on the past. I think it is very much needed in the here and now and how I think we can forge our future together as we go forward.”

Mr Carney said the UK and Canada shared a “foundation of prosperity” which would be built on in the future, including through developments in AI.

“It is a great pleasure, and I think entirely appropriate that my first official bilateral in Canada with a head of government is with Prime Minister Starmer,” he said.

“Canada and the United Kingdom, of course, share history – we share values, we share governance.

“We are a parliament inspired by the Westminster tradition, but it’s much, much more than a heritage.

“This is a foundation of prosperity for all our citizens going forward, and a prosperity based on those shared values, expressed through the future – artificial intelligence, critical minerals, new partnerships in security and defence, but all in pursuit of sustainable prosperity for our citizens.

“And if I may, just on a personal level, I’ve learned a lot from the Prime Minister over the years. I’m a great admirer of his and the values that he’s bringing to bear, to his government and… internationally.”

Sir Keir will fly from Ottawa to Kananaskis in the Canadian mountains for talks with counterparts from the world’s leading economies.

Spiralling conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine will be top of the agenda in the talks between the UK, Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan and Germany.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to attend.

Number 10 said the Prime Minister would use the trip to urge “restraint and de-escalation” after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight.

“In these dangerous times, I am determined to forge a unique path to secure and renew Britain in an era of global instability,” he said.Sir Keir is also expected to meet Mr Trump, with whom he said he is in the “final stages” of completing a US-UK trade deal, at the G7 summit.

The Prime Minister told reporters on Saturday he had a “good relationship” with the US president and “that’s important”.

“I’ve been saying, for probably the best part of six months now, we’re in a new era of defence and security, a new era for trade and the economy,” he said.

“And I think it’s really important for Britain to play a leading part in that, and that’s what I’ll be doing at the G7, talking to all of our partners in a constructive way.

“And I’m very pleased that I have developed good relations with all the G7 leaders to the point where… I have a very good relations with all of them.”