OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney used a hastily convened meeting with world leaders at U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace summit in Egypt to push for deeper trade ties with several countries in the Middle East.
A senior government official, speaking on background due to the sensitivity of diplomatic talks, told The Canadian Press the meeting led to both productive talks on postwar plans for Gaza and helpful discussions on deepening Canada’s economic and diplomatic relationships in the Persian Gulf region.
The source says that since Trump was hours late, world leaders stuck in the same room together without the standard diplomatic trappings took part in discussions that were more frank and personal than the usual exchanges at these events.
On the margins of the trip, Carney spoke with top officials from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others.
The source says Carney’s team scrambled to make it to the hastily organized summit and was forced to charter a private flight to Egypt, since Canadian military aircraft — the standard mode of travel for a prime minister — were all tied up elsewhere.
The Canadian journalists who normally attend every foreign trip made by the prime minister were left behind entirely, preventing them from keeping up with Carney on the ground or posing questions at the time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2025.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
