In London ahead of the G20 summit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday that nothing can replace American leadership as the global community works to solve the economic crisis.
In an interview with Britain's Sky News, Harper said he expects the Americans to adopt a "consensual approach" at the summit, which begins on Thursday.
Still, Harper said "there's very little that can be done without American leadership."
He urged European nations and the rest of the world to "respond" to U.S. efforts and "act together to address difficult global problems like the recession."
In an interview with CNN Wednesday, Harper said he will be urging G20 leaders to "over-act" on fixing the economy.
He said because of the scale of the recession it's much more dangerous to not do enough than to spend too much.
CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife, travelling with Harper, said the prime minister has made no time to answer questions from Canadian media.
Earlier Wednesday, Harper staged a photo opportunity Wednesday with Calgary-born soccer star Owen Hargreaves.
Hargreaves plays for Manchester United in the English Premier League.
Harper also met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
Fife said the Queen will be visiting Canada next year.
Obama calls for unity
At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama called for unity among world leaders ahead of the summit.
Obama, on his first overseas trip since taking power, said world leaders can "only meet this challenge together."
He also downplayed reports that the U.S. was feuding with other nations over how to tackle the crisis, saying any differences were "vastly overstated."
"I am absolutely confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus about the need to work in concert to deal with these problems," Obama said at a joint press conference with Brown.
Obama called for regulatory reform and said protectionism was not the solution.
He said he came on behalf of the U.S. to "listen, not to lecture."
Still, he added that the U.S. will "not miss an opportunity to lead."
The president said he was not worried about the stability of the U.S. economic system.
"I think that there is a vibrancy to our economic model, a durability to our political model, and a set of ideals that has sustained even through the most difficult times," Obama said.
Fife said the Americans are focused on putting lots of money into stimulus.
"The Europeans are concerned about doing that," Fife said. "They're concerned that if you bring too much money it's going to lead to inflation down the road."
With files from The Associated Press
