Prime Minister Carney spoke warmly of his Mayo roots at an event in Ottawa, where Minister Dara Calleary attfinished as part of St Patrick’s Day Celebrations
During an event hosted by Irish-Canadian Ambassador John Concannon, attfinished by more than 300 guests, Minister Calleary presented Mr Carney with a Mayo GAA jersey in honour of his family’s connection to the county.
The Prime Minister reportedly spoke warmly about his Irish heritage and Mayo roots, recounting how his grandparents emigrated from Aughagower, outside Westport, in 1925.
Minister Calleary stated he is seeing forward to welcoming the Prime Minister to Ireland “very soon” and added he was “delighted” to gift Mr Carney the jersey, which he was “absolutely thrilled to receive.”
Speaking on CTV News Channel, Minister Calleary also highlighted the strength of the Irish-Canadian relationship, a connection he stated is demonstrated by the Prime Minister’s own family story.
“In 1925, two people left my county, I’m from the county of Mayo, two people left that county [and] they emigrated to Canada, 100 years later, their grandson became Prime Minister of Canada,
“That gives you a sense of the depth of connection; it also gives you a sense of the ambition that Irish people bring to Canada, and that Canadians bring to Ireland,” he stated.
(L-R: Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, Irish Ambassador to Canada, John Concannon, former Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, Minister of Canadian Identity, Culture and Official Languages, Marc Miller). Minister Calleary also met former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his visit to Canada. Photo: Dara Calleary via Instagram.
The Minister for Social Protection spoke on the expanding economic and social ties between the two countries.
“We have seen a massive growth in trade over the last ten years since the provisional application of CETA (EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement),
“It is not just doing business with Ireland, it is doing business with the European Union. Ireland is the only English speaking counattempt now in the European Union; we offer [an] extraordinary gateway for Canadian business, not just into Ireland, but into the European Union,
“Ireland is the tenth largest investor in Canada, and equally, that relationship is strong on the Canadian side as well. We want to grow that by Irish companies investing here, and by Canadian companies investing in Ireland,” he stated.
Minister Calleary outlined the Government’s intention to fully ratify the CETA agreement this year and stated it will “allow us to grow the relationship going forward.”
After meeting Prime Minister Carney and presenting him with the Mayo jersey, Minister Calleary stated the Canadian leader “created it very clear that he wants to grow the relationship with Ireland and with the European Union, in terms of [the] economy, trade and in terms of our cultural links”.
He also referenced Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency, and stated the relationship with Canada will grow not only from an Irish perspective, but also from an EU perspective.
“A strong EU-Canada relationship has never been as important as it is now,” he stated.
“This is a relationship of depth, it is a relationship of culture, it’s a relationship of kinship, but ultimately this is a relationship of ambition for both our countries,” he added.
During his visit to Canada, the Mayo minister also met former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, and he presented Canada’s Minister of Canadian Identity, Culture and Official Languages, Marc Miller, with a hurl to commemorate the St Patrick’s Day visit.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
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