Carney to meet UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for first time

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to meet his UK counterpart Andy Burnham for the first time. The meeting is set to take place in Liverpool during Carney's three-day European trip, which begins on Tuesday. During the visit, Carney and Burnham will discuss various topics including Canada-U.K. relations on defence and security, energy, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals.

Carney congratulated Burnham on his appointment as UK prime minister on July 20, but this will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. Burnham has been the UK's fourth prime minister in four years, following a succession of former Conservative leaders Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, and former Labour leader Keir Starmer, who were unable to maintain their positions.

Starmer was removed from office by his own party, and Labour's internal leadership race resulted in Burnham assuming the role of UK prime minister, formerly mayor of Greater Manchester.

In addition to the meeting with Burnham, Carney will also address the European Parliament in Strasbourg and participate in the State of the European Union address during his European tour. This busy week for the prime minister includes hosting a two-day investment summit in Toronto on Monday and Tuesday.

The European Union's ambassador to Canada announced earlier this week that Carney and EU officials are working to establish a new partnership during Carney's visit to the European Parliament. Carney has been focused on strengthening ties with European countries and globally as relations with the United States deteriorate. On Tuesday, Canada implemented counter-tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of U.S. products in response to the breakdown of trade talks between the two nations in late August.