Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Strasbourg on Wednesday in a high-profile effort to deepen relations with the European Union as tensions with US President Donald Trump continue to reshape Canada’s trade priorities.
Carney will become the first foreign head of government to attend the European Commission president’s State of the Union address. On Thursday, he will address the European Parliament, where he is expected to outline his vision for “a unique alliance” between Canada and Europe.
The visit comes as Carney seeks to reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States. He has pledged to double the country’s non-US trade over the next decade as Ottawa pivots towards new economic partnerships amid an increasingly acrimonious trade war with Washington.
Seven EU diplomats in Canada and Europe told Reuters that active efforts are under way to strengthen cooperation in trade, defence and digital security. However, no specific high-level plan for a comprehensive new Canada-EU relationship has yet been discussed. Carney said on Tuesday that more detailed discussions would begin at the Canada-EU summit in Montreal in late October.
“Our relationship with the EU has become increasingly close, especially over the past year and a half,” Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told Reuters. “The EU stands out as a jurisdiction where there are not only shared values, but shared economic interests.”
The possibility of a closer institutional relationship has already generated debate. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Carney had suggested Canada become an “associate member” of the EU. Four EU diplomats in Canada said full EU membership was impossible because of geographical constraints and the legal implications of membership.
“We want to upgrade the Canada-EU relationship, but even though we both believe in a rules-based global order, there is an ocean that separates us,” one diplomat said.
Trade nevertheless presents significant obstacles. Mark Manger, a professor of political economy and global affairs at the University of Toronto, said EU officials had been frustrated by Canada’s refusal to open its protected telecommunications and dairy industries. Although Canada has a trade agreement with the 27-member EU, 10 countries have not ratified it.
Defence could offer a more immediate area for cooperation. Anand Sundar, special adviser to the director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said officials were working on proposals for a distinctive relationship between Canada and the EU, drawing on arrangements the bloc has with other non-EU states. Canada agreed in December to join a European initiative on defence procurement, becoming the first non-European country to participate in the continental strategy.
European governments, however, remain cautious about directly supporting Carney’s tougher approach to Washington. Four European diplomats said many European leaders had been privately shocked by Trump’s verbal attacks on Canada, but were reluctant to publicly back Ottawa for fear of provoking similar treatment from the US president.
Canada’s EU ambassador-designate, Jonathan Wilkinson, said European officials had remained in close contact with Carney’s government and that there was substantial tacit support. He pointed to the EU’s size and its focus on areas such as artificial intelligence and digital services as potentially important to Canada’s efforts to assert its sovereignty.
“We haven’t asked European leaders to stand up and make a declaration of support for Canada and I don’t think we need that,” Wilkinson said. “We can stand up for ourselves and find new ways to work.”
Carney’s visit will coincide with Ursula von der Leyen’s annual address to the European Parliament. The European Commission president is expected to call for greater EU solidarity on climate change, artificial intelligence and competition from China, while stressing the need for European independence in energy, raw materials and clean technologies.
Von der Leyen is also expected to argue that Canada, while unable to join the EU, could be brought as close as possible to the bloc because of shared values and its potential role in reducing European dependence on China for raw materials and processing. Her address is also expected to cover migration, cybersecurity and the economic opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence.
