Carney to attend Commonwealth gathering in Antigua, where King Charles will host leaders’ events

The Story

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to travel to Antigua and Barbuda on Monday for a Commonwealth leaders’ meeting that features a lunch and a formal dinner hosted by King Charles, along with executive sessions and other meetings.

Officials said much of the gathering will focus on trade and investment, with discussion also expected on resilience and mitigation related to climate change, particularly for small island states. Retired Canadian diplomat Patricia Fortier said the event brings together a wide range of countries and described it as “like a diplomatic feast,” citing representation across regions including the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, North America and the Indo-Pacific.

Carney is expected to spend one day at the meeting, and officials declined to say in advance who he will meet bilaterally. Ronald Sanders, Antigua’s high commissioner to Canada, said Carney will meet with Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

Sanders said Browne will propose a bilateral agreement with Canada that “could see joint ventures and activities that promote economic growth and create commercial opportunities for Canadian enterprises.” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will join Carney, and government officials described the Commonwealth gathering as a platform for Canada to expand trade, investment and strategic cooperation. Officials said Canada currently has $100 billion in trade with Commonwealth countries.

In remarks about the Commonwealth agenda, Anand said Canada “supports practical Commonwealth initiatives that strengthen supply chains and improve market access, that advance trade diversification,” and added that the Commonwealth has “ambitious targets” to increase trade among Commonwealth countries to $2 trillion by 2030.

Ahead of the Tuesday opening ceremony, Carney will host a working breakfast with Caribbean leaders, which officials said will provide an opportunity to discuss trade and investment, climate action and regional security.

Fortier said Canada’s relationship with Commonwealth states can matter in multilateral settings, noting that organizations such as the United Nations give each member country one vote “regardless of size.” She said smaller states can “make or break your initiatives,” particularly across regions affected by climate change.

Sanders said the modern Commonwealth was established in 1949 and described it as “a consensual association” with members tied historically to the British Empire, representing a large share of the world’s population. He said there was a period when Canada automatically had support for a candidate for a UN post, and he said the relationship changed as Canadian governments shifted toward closer ties with the United States and Mexico.

King Charles is expected to address the legacy of slavery at the meeting in Antigua. Fortier said the Commonwealth began early discussions about climate change and that it has acted collectively on major issues in the past, including helping to end apartheid in South Africa.

Experts said trade and investment are a priority for the Commonwealth Secretary General Shirley Botchwey, who took office in 2025, and Michael Manulak said the meeting will include “a lot of discussion about concrete ways of reducing barriers to trade.” Tamanisha John, an assistant professor at York University, said the issue of slavery and colonialism is “a really live issue” for many Caribbean states, and said the U.K. government opposes reparations.