French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saint Pierre and Miquelon amid rising tensions with the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Saint Pierre and Miquelon on Sunday, where he will meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as Canada, France and the United States navigate heightened diplomatic and trade tensions.
The visit to the French territory comes weeks after US President Donald Trump shared a social media image showing the archipelago under the American flag.
Macron’s trip will mark his first visit to Saint Pierre and Miquelon since former French President Francois Hollande travelled there in 2014. French officials said the visit would reaffirm France’s sovereignty over the islands while highlighting the close relationship between Paris and Ottawa.
Located off Canada’s Atlantic coast, Saint Pierre and Miquelon is France’s only remaining territory in North America. The small archipelago has a population of around 5,800 people but holds strategic importance because of its location near the North Atlantic, the United States and the Arctic.
French officials said maritime sovereignty, climate change and cooperation with Canada would also feature during Macron’s visit.
Macron and Carney are expected to discuss the ongoing energy crisis and Canada’s expanding ties with the European Union. The bloc has recently indicated that Canada could become its first associate member, a development that could deepen economic and political links between Ottawa and the EU.
The meeting comes as Canada faces trade tensions with the United States and seeks to strengthen relations with European partners.
Macron is travelling to Saint Pierre and Miquelon ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where world leaders are scheduled to gather.
The visit also carries diplomatic significance following Trump’s social media post featuring a map of the United States with its flag covering several regions, including Saint Pierre and Miquelon and French territories in the Caribbean.
France did not publicly respond to the post at the time.
Any deeper integration between Canada and the European Union could face challenges. Several EU member states have yet to fully ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the bloc, despite the agreement being provisionally applied since 2017.
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