Prime Minister Stephen Harper met his newly-elected British counterpart for the first time Thursday, but was unable to win his support as an opponent of the contentious bank tax proposal.
After an hour-long meeting in London, Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron emerged to speak to reporters about their meeting and their discussions on the tax.
Harper disapproves of the proposed tax, saying it would unfairly penalize Canadian banks that did not need bailouts during the recent recession.
While Cameron said he understands Canada's position, he said the British government will continue to push for the bank tax to spare taxpayers from the burden of having to bail out banks in bad times.
"We've always made clear, here in the U.K., that we will press ahead with this measure anyway, partly because of the large support the taxpayers have given to the banks," Cameron told reporters Thursday.
"But obviously we'd like to secure the maximum amount of agreement for this proposal and we're encouraged that there are other countries, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper mentioned in terms of America and Germany and France and others, that look like they will push ahead."
On bank bailouts, Harper said Britain has a "very different history" than Canada, which did not bail out its financial institutions.
"The population is outraged about having to have bailed out the private sector. That's not the case in Canada. That's obviously why we see this situation very differently," he said.
The two leaders also discussed broader economic issues during their first face-to-face meeting. They will meet again at the G8 and G20 summits being held in Ontario later this month.
After meeting with Cameron, Harper is due to depart for France to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Friday.
Harper is the first foreign prime minister to visit 10 Downing Street since Cameron was declared as the British leader following a dramatic election last month.
Cameron, the leader of Britain's Conservative party, formed a coalition government with the third-place and left-leaning Liberal Democrats, which is slated to stand until the next election.
With files from The Canadian Press
