UNITED NATIONS — Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to close out his time at the United Nations General Assembly by reuniting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for an event to build collaboration around ocean observation. The OceanEye International Alliance event will bring together other leaders, civil society partners and UN organizations to build a network to observe and share data around ocean changes and challenges. It comes a week after von der Leyen opened the door to Canada becoming what she called the first “associate member.” Carney’s emerging role as a key global champion of building alliances and defending multilateralism has brought repeated scorn from U.S. President Donald Trump. The two leaders did not meet at the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Carney’s first trip to the United States since trade negotiations fell apart last month. Carney on Tuesday said the United Nations was an opportunity to meet with other global leaders that he sees less often. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2026. Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
