Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed a proposal for his country to become the European Union's first "associate member", shrugging off threats from United States President Donald Trump.
Canada and the 27-nation European Union are seeking to take ties to a new level in the face of aggression from Trump – who reinforced their concerns by menacing tariffs.
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Carney said Canada "welcomes" the ambition expressed by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to make the country an associate member.
"We are not fair-weather allies. We do not pursue zero-sum deals. We hold common values for which we have always fought, and in whose defence we must always remain vigilant," Carney said to applause from European lawmakers.
"Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together."
Both the EU and Canada have been buffeted by tariffs and territorial threats from the US, as well as competition from China.
Trump called von der Leyen's unprecedented offer "laughable" on Wednesday, telling reporters he could impose "very serious tariffs" or "stop trading with Europe" should the plan go ahead.
Carney rejected these threats, saying: "Nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally."
He insisted that an EU-Canada alliance aimed to be a "beacon for democracies".
"I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival, only with better manners," he continued.
"We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law."
Carney, who was elected in April 2025, listed a raft of areas where he wanted to ramp up cooperation.
"Canada and Europe should secure our strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security, space and payments."
He also said the EU and Canada should move towards "seamless digital trade" and allow young people to work and study on either side of the Atlantic.
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2 Comments
TheJesusaurus@piefed.ca · 3 pts · 8d
The USA is now in the "babe don't make me do this to you" stage of our relationship
ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net · 1 pts · 8d
I wonder who'se going to tell his rich asshole friends that suspending trade with the EU means both BMW's and Mercedes's (as well as most Supercars) will be un-importable...