section_path: Events leading to the summit
section_name: Events leading to the summit
paragraph_text: Events leading to the summit
  
  On 14 June, Canadian Prime Minister Carney and British Prime Minister Starmer held their bilateral meeting in Ottawa. On route to Ottawa, Starmer stated that "Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth " in the wake of President Trump's threats to annex Canada as the 51st state. Upon arrival, Starmer had dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at his official residence at Rideau Cottage, later the two watched a National Hockey League game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. They agreed to establish a Economic and Trade Working Group and to deepen the Trade Continuity Agreement, while Carney committed Canada to ratifying the UK's accession to CPTPP. The meeting was the first between two international leaders since Israel's strikes on Iran starting the 2025 Iran–Israel conflict; Starmer began a diplomatic push to try to de-escalate the Middle Eastern crisis.