Carney: Canada and EU are ‘stronger together’

(CN) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday embraced forming an “alliance for the future” with the European Union, saying it could become the basis for a new “prosperous world order.”“A Canada-EU alliance would create a beacon for other democracies, an alliance not defined by what we oppose, but about what we are for: freedom, solidarity, prosperity, sustainability,” Carney said in a speech to the European Parliament.Carney’s speech came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s chief executive, opened the door to making Canada the EU’s first “associate member.”“An alliance for the future is a unique, positive approach that we will define together, building on our common strengths and based on our shared values,” Carney said. “We should deepen our people-to-people ties, allowing our youth to work, study, and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic.”A lot of questions remain though. First of all, the status of “associate member” does not exist under EU law and creating it would require amending EU treaties, which would be a very difficult task given that all 27 EU nations would have to agree.Also, von der Leyen’s proposal, made during an annual state of the union speech, took many European capitals by surprise and it was met with skepticism by many experts.Late Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump ridiculed the proposal, calling it “laughable” and potentially a “hostile act” that could lead him to impose “heavy tariffs” on the EU.“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. He even threatened to “stop trade” with Europe.Canada and the EU have sought to portray their budding alliance as not a reaction to Trump, but it is clearly a tactic to join forces against him and forge a reliable relationship in the face of a world upended by war, technological advances, climate change and clashing superpowers.The U.S. and Canada are in the midst of a bruising trade war and Trump has shredded trust in Europe by casting doubt on NATO, threatening to seize Greenland, withdrawing support for Ukraine and supporting far-right anti-EU political parties.Carney’s trip to Europe this week was viewed as his attempt to put into practice a groundbreaking speech he made in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.In that speech, Carney said “middle powers” like Canada and Europe need to work together to increase their bargaining power against aggressive superpowers engaged in zero-sum strategies.In the Davos speech, Carney said the “fiction” about the benefits derived from a U.S.-led international rules-based order had been laid bare by a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics in the past 20 years.The Canadian leader accused “great powers” of “using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.”In Thursday’s speech, Carney elaborated on those same themes and said Canada and Europe must unite to better withstand “a ferocious storm.”He praised the EU as a project centered on spreading progressive liberal values.“We are not fair-weather allies. We do not pursue zero-sum deals,” he said to the applause of the European Parliament. “Our commitment to the rule of law, and our unyielding defense of human dignity, individual freedom, and democracy share the same deep roots, the same unwavering dedication.”He continued: “Together, Canada and the European Union can anchor our ground to hold our values while forming a protective canopy under which our citizens can thrive.”By joining forces, he said Canada and Europe could work together to “secure access to AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, payment systems, clean energy technologies, vaccines, space-based communications.”“Canada and Europe are each strong,” he said. “Europe and Canada are stronger together.”With its vast resources and huge geography, Carney said Canada could provide Europe with the critical raw materials needed to build electric vehicles, solar panels and other advanced technologies.“We have unique Arctic geography and privileged access to both Atlantic and Pacific networks,” he said. “We should build on each other’s strengths deliberately, systematically and rapidly.”Before the trade war with the U.S., about 70% of Canadian exports went to the U.S.Bilateral trade between Canada and the EU stood at about $147 billion in 2025, making Europe Canada’s second-largest trading partner.Canada and the EU have a partially applied free-trade deal and signed a defense partnership in June 2025. This year, Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s $173 billion SAFE defense program, giving Canadian companies access to joint procurement deals.Canada and the EU are planning a summit in Montreal in late October, where the details of a potential associate membership are expected to be presented.Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads