MONTREAL — Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will work with whatever governments voters choose as it pursues closer ties with Europe and navigates the second half of Donald Trump’s presidency.Carney made the comments Thursday during a news conference at the Canada-European Union summit in Montreal.The Western Standard asked Carney whether the growth of right-wing parties, including Marine Le Pen’s movement in France and the Alternative for Germany, could complicate Canada’s plans for deeper European trade and security ties..“One of Europe’s strengths is democracy, freedom, core belief in the rule of law,” Carney replied.“There will always be different governments, governments of different stripes in Europe.”Carney said the European Union has continued to grow and strengthen over several decades despite changes of government among its member states.He said the bloc has been “enriched by the national democratic processes of those countries.”.The Western Standard also asked how Ottawa would approach trade negotiations if Trump’s Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.Carney declined to predict the result.“Whether it’s your first question in terms of the cycle of European elections, American midterm elections, provincial elections in Canada, our responsibility as government — my responsibility as prime minister — is to work with whatever government people have chosen,” he said.“We look to do that in a co-operative way.”Carney was also asked whether he expected Canada-U.S. relations to improve after the midterms and whether he was prepared for Trump to blame him for potential Republican losses.“Obviously, I’m not going to speculate on the outcome of the U.S. midterms,” Carney said. “That outcome will be decided by Americans soon enough, and we’ll move forward from there.”Carney is hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa at the two-day Montreal summit.The talks are intended to deepen Canada-EU trade, defence and economic ties as Ottawa works to reduce its dependence on the United States.
