Carney visiting Berlin to boost trade, defence ties

Former German politician Bernd Althusmann said the partnership between Canada and Germany is strong, but also “more important and valuable than ever.”

“In uncertain times like these, you need friends and partners,” he said. “And this applies, from my point of view, equally to Canada and Germany.”

Althusmann runs the Canadian office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank funded by German federal and state governments to promote transatlantic relations and democratic values.

Those ideals are under threat as Trump casts doubt on American support for the NATO military alliance, and slaps tariffs on countries that are historically close U.S. partners, including Canada.

Trump’s return followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led to an energy crunch in Germany. The war has also had Berlin pledge a military build up that many Germans thought unthinkable after the catastrophe of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War.

“The lesson we have learned in Germany is that the world is not so peaceful as maybe every one of us has hoped,” Althusmann said.

Canada and Germany have been aligned on a number of fronts in recent years, including climate change and hydrogen development, but there have been a few recent bumps causing some wrinkles in the relationship.

During the spring campaign, Canada was the highlight country at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest trade fair which happens annually in Germany. It’s customary for the annual partnering countries to send high-profile senior politicians to open the fair, as President Barack Obama did in 2016.

German media took notice this April when Canada sent mid-level civil servants to open the fair, with no elected officials, following weeks of the press asking whom Canada would send. The event took place during Canada’s recent election, and just a few weeks after Carney was first sworn in as prime minister.

Canada has also not had an ambassador in Berlin since November 2023, when former B.C. premier John Horgan died. Ottawa has had an interim head of mission for nearly two years, a length of time normally reserved for countries with strained relations.

“It’s not of highest importance,” Althusmann said. “They are such strong friends and partners, and we have such good experience between Canada and Germany in the last years.”

Althusmann was a state minister with the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, the party of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ursula von der Leyen used to be part of, before she was elected president of the European Commission.

He said he knows both leaders “very well” and sees Carney aligning with each on three key themes: energy, security and trade for high-tech fields.

In energy, Germany is looking to Canada to help provide affordable fuel, particularly for the country’s large manufacturing sector that grappled with restrictions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

That same year, Canada and Germany signed an agreement that was to see Canada export hydrogen to Europe starting this year. That plan has hit a few snags, including delays in getting the Canadian production going.

In security, Germany sees the Arctic as a site of potential conflict, despite Berlin, Ottawa, Moscow and Beijing all insisting they want peace in the region. 

“It’s for us, a question of peace and freedom in the next (few) years,” Althusmann said.

German vessels are already doing research near Greenland on global warming and marine biology, he said, and Germany has worked with the Arctic Council since the 1990s on initiatives such as boosting work with Indigenous peoples. 

German arms and defence manufacturers could also work with Canadian companies through a new European Union partnership. Berlin has been proposing Canada join a project with Norway to create submarines for the three countries’ naval forces.

And in economic trade, Germany has long argued that the 2017 trade deal between Canada and the European Union could unleash more growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Berlin has fully ratified the trade deal and has suggested its EU peers follow suit.

In February, Germany’s ambassador said colleagues from other EU countries have been working to identify gaps that Canadian business could fill in Europe and vice versa, to make up for American protectionist policies. 

“I still see untapped opportunities in the field of green technologies and critical raw materials, where Canada’s wealth of resources in Germany’s innovative strengths can have synergistic effect,” Althusmann said.

Canada’s mix of private and public expertise in cybersecurity could also help bolster Germany’s resilience, Althusmann said.

The visit comes as Canada continues to chair the G7, after hosting the June leaders’ summit in Alberta. Ottawa is working on minister-level events that would give Ottawa and Berlin a chance to convince their American counterparts to change course on issues like industrial policy or foreign aid.

“We have much to do for the next (few) years and therefore such a visit … is in the right time,” Althusmann said. “We need this strong partnership, in a moment where no one really knows what will happen in the next years, especially in the U.S.,” he said.

— With files from Craig Lord.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2025.