Canada and France have agreed to deepen cooperation on space infrastructure, business and economic growth, as Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron met Sunday in the French territory of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
Speaking to reporters, Carney said the two countries will direct their space agencies and defence ministries to jointly develop and share infrastructure, including space launch systems and ground-based reception facilities. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said the plan includes infrastructure capable of receiving data from satellites.
Carney also said the two leaders will task the regional joint cooperation commission between Atlantic Canada and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon with expanding its mandate to cover economic growth, energy transition and climate resilience.
Chambers of Commerce to Formalize Ties
Carney said the chambers of commerce of both countries are joining forces to bring their business communities closer together, with the French and Canadian chambers expected to sign a formal agreement in the coming weeks.
Alain Di Crescenzo, president and CEO of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement that strengthening ties with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce represents a concrete step toward turning the historic relationship between the two countries into real business opportunities. He said the two economies offer genuine complementarities that could allow for the development of shared value chains in strategic sectors.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Candace Laing said her organization has already begun deepening ties with the French business community, pointing to a trade mission of Canadian business leaders to Paris last June. She said further engagements are planned.
The visit marked the first official trip by a Canadian prime minister to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, according to Macron’s office, while Macron is the first French president to visit the islands in more than a decade. The leaders took part in a working lunch and a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial for the volunteers of Free France, commemorating the 1941 liberation of the archipelago from Vichy control.
Macron also announced the creation of a new Canada-France Polar Research Forum, with its first meeting to be held in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
Broader Push Toward Europe
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions with the United States for both Canada and European countries, and as Canada and the European Union explore a broader alliance. Earlier in the week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wants Canada to become the first “associate member” of the EU, telling the European Parliament that the two sides must move beyond their existing free-trade agreement toward the “highest level possible” of partnership.
Carney addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, saying he welcomed von der Leyen’s ambitions. He said the specific shape of any new arrangement has not yet been determined and would go before Parliament for debate and a vote, but noted his interest in expanding ties in areas such as opportunities for young people and an integrated market for financial services.
Canada and the EU already have a free trade agreement, though it has not been ratified by all EU member states, and Canada last year became the only non-European member of the EU’s defence procurement program.
Carney signalled his intention to strengthen ties with Europe shortly after becoming prime minister in March 2025, when he travelled to Paris to meet Macron and to London to meet King Charles within days of being sworn in. On Sunday, he said the relationship between Canada and France sits at the centre of the country’s growing partnership with Europe.
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