Mark Carney’s globe-spanning travel schedule draws both criticism and praise

Prime Minister Mark Carney boards a government plane as he departs for Poland, Germany and Latvia from the airport in Ottawa on Aug. 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney is back in London this week -- his second visit to the British capital among 13 foreign visits since March -- and his globe-trotting schedule is drawing both criticism and praise.

Carney has taken five trips to Europe, two to the United States and one to Mexico since he was sworn into office on March 14.

The travel schedule is drawing fire from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who took to social media to needle the prime minister.

In one recent post, Poilievre said Carney was “back on his taxpayer-funded jet” to attend a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In another, he said problems like inflation and housing affordability are getting worse and Carney “prances around abroad while Canadians pay the price at home.”

One international affairs expert, however, said Carney appears to be doing the job he was elected to do by working to shore up multiple trade ties as the United States becomes an increasingly unreliable actor under President Donald Trump.

“Carney’s challenge is a very simple one -- to send a message to the rest of the world that Canada is back open for business,” said Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

“He’s doing exactly what he should be doing, which is the wholesale marketing of Canada to diversify sources of trade -- both exports and imports -- but also to encourage investment in the country.”

Canada’s high commissioner in the U.K. defended the visit on Friday, saying it’s very important for the two leaders to “sit down in the same room together and talk to each other” as they assess the progress made in the bilateral relationship.

“In a relationship like this one between Canada and the U.K., having those two prime ministers physically in the same room and talking directly to each other is an extremely important thing,” Ralph Goodale told reporters in London.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said they had no further comment beyond Poilievre’s social media posts.

A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond when asked if Carney is striking the right balance between international travel and his responsibilities in the House of Commons.

Question period is where opposition parties publicly hold the government to account between elections. Carney has taken part in just three question periods since the House of Commons resumed last Monday.

In the spring sitting following the election, Carney participated in nine question periods.

Carney has travelled to 11 countries since becoming prime minister, most of them in Europe.

In the week between becoming prime minister and calling the federal election last March, Carney flew to Europe for a whirlwind 24-hour visit that included meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and King Charles and Starmer in London.

By visiting Europe before the United States -- and by referring to Canada as the “most European of non-European countries” during his visit to Paris -- Carney was widely perceived to be sending a signal about Ottawa’s pivot toward Europe and away from a Canada-U.S. relationship that has soured under President Donald Trump.

Those meetings also set the stage for Canada to secure a new security pact with Europe, a deal he signed on a subsequent trip to Brussels in June.

Carney did visit the White House in May, after the election. He also travelled to Rome that month to attend Pope Leo’s inaugural mass. In June he flew to Brussels and to the NATO leaders’ summit in the Netherlands.

In August he travelled to Ukraine, Germany, Poland and Latvia, where he underscored Canada’s support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and pushed trade and defence ties.

In Mexico earlier this month, Carney signed an agreement with President Claudia Sheinbaum that includes a plan to build port, rail and energy infrastructure while tackling crime and protecting the environment.

Earlier this week, he spent several days in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly.

He is also expected to attend a series of summits this fall, including the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, the APEC forum in South Korea and the G20 summit in South Africa. Canada hosted the G7 summit this summer in Alberta.

Hampson said the trips should be seen not as “political tourism” but as a sign that Carney is “firing on all eight cylinders” in his efforts to rebuild international trade relationships while working on domestic issues through a series of meetings with premiers.

As for his travel to Europe, Hampson said Carney understands “you have to show up more than once.”

“You’ve got to build those relationships with people that are going to do business with you,” he said.

“And so that’s exactly what he’s doing, and he’ll be doing the same in Asia.”

By Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.