Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed a European Union proposal to make Canada the bloc’s first associate member, telling the European Parliament that closer ties were not meant to build a new bloc that would rival the world’s great powers.
“We welcome this ambition,” Carney said of the plan unveiled Wednesday by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. He described the goal as deeper Canada-Europe integration across trade, defence, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, space, research and financial services, to make both sides less vulnerable to economic and geopolitical pressure.
“I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival – only with better manners,” Carney said. “We do not seek power to dominate others.” He said the goal is to build Canada’s resilience so that no country can control its markets or dictate its choices.
Lawmakers gave Carney a standing ovation, with many lawmakers approaching him to shake his hand and ask for selfies; one parliamentarian wore a Canadian hockey jersey. Von der Leyen said Canada and the EU should move beyond their existing free-trade agreement and create an “alliance for the future” encompassing a “common prosperity and economic security space.”
The reception followed sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump, who called the idea “laughable” and threatened “very serious tariffs” or a halt in trade with Europe. “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump said.
France’s Europe minister, Benjamin Haddad, rejected the pressure. “It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” Haddad told the Public Sénat TV channel on Thursday.
Associate membership does not currently exist in the EU’s treaties and would need to be created. Canada is not seeking full membership, which would require ceding sovereignty. The move follows Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state, which have pushed Ottawa to reduce its reliance on the United States, the destination for 70 per cent of Canadian exports. Earlier this year Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s €150 billion (US$173 billion) Safe defence procurement programme.
Carney will host EU leaders for a Canada-EU summit in Montreal on October 29–30, where the two sides are expected to discuss the proposed new relationship in more detail.