Carney says Ireland and Canada are navigating a global rupture

As fault lines widen across world affairs, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used a high-profile speech in Dublin to argue that Ireland and Canada can help steady an increasingly unsettled international order by acting in concert.

Carney delivered the message at the inaugural De Chastelain Public Lecture at Trinity College Dublin during the first day of his two-day visit to Ireland.

In remarks that ranged widely across economics and security, Mr Carney said the tools of economic integration were now being turned into instruments of pressure, while conflicts were not only spreading but changing shape.

“Canada, Ireland, and Europe are increasingly and immediately vulnerable to once-distant threats,” he said.

Even so, Mr Carney said he believed the first threads of a better, reimagined world could be drawn together in the near future.

At the heart of that vision, he said, is a push to deepen relationships with likeminded nations — what he described as reliable partners.

Mr Carney said Canada and Ireland are united in protecting values including human rights, dignity and pluralism.

His visit to Ireland has been presented, in part, as a return to family roots.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary welcome the Carneys to Ireland

Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said Ireland was welcoming the Canadian prime minister “home”.

Mr Carney, whose grandparents were Irish, is in the country for a two-day programme of engagements in Dublin city centre.

He is also due to travel tomorrow to Co Mayo, where his grandparents were born.

The Canadian prime minister arrived at Dublin Airport this morning with his wife, Diana Fox, and was met by the Taoiseach and his wife, Mary Martin.

Also present were Canadian ambassador to Ireland Dennis King and his wife Jana Hemphill, along with Irish ambassador to Canada John Concannon and his wife Mary.

Mr Carney and the Taoiseach later held a one-on-one meeting before appearing together at a joint press conference at Government Buildings.

There, Mr Carney and Mr Martin unveiled a new “bilateral co-operation framework” covering trade and investment, life sciences, research and innovation, as well as security and defence.

Watch: Taoiseach welcomes Canadian Prime Minister ‘home’ to Ireland

Mr Martin said Ireland was welcoming the prime minister “home”.

“I know I speak for the people of Mayo, and indeed for the Irish people more broadly, when I say that we are deeply honoured to welcome him back,” he said.

Mr Carney responded: “Micheál, thank you for welcoming me back home.

“It is a true pleasure to return to Dublin, and an honour to be the first Canadian prime minister in a decade to be making an official visit here.”

Earlier, he signed the official guestbook in Mr Martin’s office, writing: “In deep appreciation for your leadership and that of Ireland towards a deeper relationship between our countries based on our shared history, common valued and bold ambitions.”

The Government has described the visit as a “significant milestone” in the relationship between Ireland and Canada.

It said the two countries share deep historical ties, with 4.4 million Canadians — more than 12% of the population — claiming Irish heritage.

This weekend’s official visit by the Canadian prime minister to the land of his forebears comes at a pivotal moment for both Ireland and Canada.

Mr Carney has repeatedly argued that Canada must build new alliances and open new markets to reduce its reliance on the United States, while Ireland, facing continued uncertainty in international trade linked to the US, also sees Canada as an important partner for expanding commerce in goods and services.

Mr Carney’s stop in Ireland forms part of a six-day dash through Europe: he visited France yesterday and is due to return there for the G7 summit.

This evening, Mr Carney is attending a gala dinner in Dublin Castle, where he is meeting other members of the Government and also give a speech.

At the gala dinner, the Taoiseach said the two countries “enjoy a thriving and prosperous relationship”.

“In the most unpredictable of global environments, we recognise that we have a opportunity to forge new and powerful ties between Ireland and Canada and Europe,” he said.

Mr Carney told guests that Canada, Ireland and Europe are standing at the edge of a “rupture in the global system”.

Raising a toast, he said: “A blessing to the kinship between the Irish and Canadian people, may we always meet each other at the threshold and cross it together.”

Gardaí expect some rolling traffic delays in the city centre.

Delighted to welcome Canadian Prime Minister @MarkJCarney and Madame Diana Fox Carney to Ireland.

An opportunity to strengthen the close bonds between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/M9VNYxWizC

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) June 13, 2026

Tomorrow, traffic delays and restrictions are considered likely in Co Mayo.

The formal programme there will begin in Westport, where Mr Carney is to meet President Catherine Connolly in the historic surroundings of Westport House.

He will then travel on to the area his family comes from, where he is expected to attend mass in the parish church and visit Aughagower graveyard.

Aughagower graveyard in Co Mayo

Later, a civic reception in Westport in honour of the Canadian prime minister will bring the landmark visit to a close.

At a time marked by geopolitical strain and deepening division, Ireland and Canada have continued to draw closer together.

Trade between the two countries has climbed from €3.2 billion in 2016 to €12bn today.

The Government believes it has now enacted the legislation needed to pave the way for the formal ratification of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Cereals are among the Canadian products imported into Ireland, while pharmaceutical products account for the leading Irish exports to Canada.

When Irish emigration to North America is discussed, the United States is often the first destination that comes to mind.

But in Canada, Irish-Canadians make up the third largest ethnic group, with 4.5 million people — or 12% of the population — claiming Irish heritage.

Watch: Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney arriving at Dublin Airport

A measure of the regard in which Ireland is held came five years ago in the Canadian House of Commons, when a motion designating March as Irish Heritage month was adopted.

Migration links stretch back centuries, and for the past 87 years Ireland and Canada have maintained diplomatic relations that remain strong.

Ireland has an embassy in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto, while Canada maintains an embassy in Dublin.

According to the prime minister’s office, Mr Carney’s visit will centre on “deepening longstanding cultural and people-to-people ties and expanding trade ties”.

Canada also regards Ireland as one of its “most like minded partners in the European Union”, sharing “core democratic values and common priorities”.

While this is the first official visit to Ireland by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, it is also the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to Co Mayo.

Two of Mr Carney’s grandparents emigrated from Aughagower in 1925, making the trip a deeply personal one as well as a diplomatic mission, and giving Mark Carney the chance to catch up with his Mayo cousins.

Locals say this is Mr Carney’s first visit, although his father is reported to have travelled there decades ago.

Additional reporting PA