Carney congratulates new U.K. Prime Minister Burnham, calls for continued co

Carney congratulates new U.K. Prime Minister Burnham, calls for continued co-operation

Canadian PM says he wants 'to build greater security, stability, and prosperity' with U.K.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian officials offered congratulations to new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham — while suggesting there are areas in which the two countries can strengthen relations.

Burnham was officially sworn in on Monday, becoming the fifth British prime minister in four years and the seventh in a decade.

Carney offered congratulations to Burnham in a written statement.

"I look forward to working with Prime Minister Burnham to build greater security, stability and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic," the statement said.

Carney listed trade and "building stronger defence industries and supply chains" as some of the specific files Canada and the U.K. can collaborate on.

Canada to raise Defence, Security and Resilience Bank

Burnham takes over for Kier Starmer, who decided that the U.K. would not be part of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB).

The DSRB is a multilateral institution focused on financing defence, security and resilience projects for NATO members and allied nations. Canada has been chosen as the site of the headquarters of the new institution.

Bill Blair, Canada's U.K. ambassador and a former defence minister, told CBC News he's looking forward to working with Burnham's government and that he expects Carney will raise the DSRB with the new British prime minister.

"We're quite prepared to work with them very closely — we think the United Kingdom's participation in the DSRB will benefit all of its members," he said.

Blair was speaking at the biennial Farnborough Air Show in the U.K., where a number of Canadian ministers are also in attendance.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, too, said during a news conference at the event that she thinks Canada and the U.K. could have closer defence ties. But she also suggested that the two countries could do more on trade.

Andy Burnham becomes U.K. prime minister, pledges end to 'rough sleeping'

Canada's Parliament passed legislation this spring that ratified the U.K. joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — a Pacific Rim trade deal the British government sought to join in its hunt for new trading partners in Brexit’s aftermath.

A temporary trade deal was put in place following Brexit, but talks for a more permanent agreement have been shelved since early 2024, with sticking points remaining over U.K. dairy products and Canadian beef.

"We think that Canada and the U.K. have historic ties, but we also think that we can grow even more our trade together," Joly said. "The U.K. is the third biggest trading partner of Canada. We have a free trade agreement together, but we can do more."

No shortage of challenges for new PM

While Burnham has been regarded as one of the Labour Party's best communicators, he faces many of the same problems as his predecessor, including a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living squeeze fuelled by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and overstretched public services.

Promising Britons "some ⁠breathing space now," he said on Monday that the government would set out some measures to tackle ‌the high cost of living and how it plans to fund them.

Starmer led the Labour Party to a mid-2024 election rout as the party more than doubled its seats from a loss five years earlier, even as its share of the total vote only went up by about two percentage points. Starmer's two years in office were marred by missteps and judgment errors that eroded his standing with his party and the public.

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds a master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.

With files from Ashley Burker and The Associated Press