William Watson: Canada truly strong would stay out of Europe

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeFP CommentWilliam Watson: Canada truly strong would stay out of EuropeIf we got all the benefits of EU membership and none of the red tape, that would be one thing. But that's not going to be the dealLast updated 11 minutes ago European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, greeting Prime Minister Mark Carney during her annual keynote address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 16. Photo by Handout/EUROPEAN UNION/AFP via Getty ImagesTo a standing ovation from European Union politicians, President Ursula von der Leyen told a beaming Mark Carney in Strasbourg Wednesday that she wants to “bring the relationship with Canada to the highest possible level” and “work … on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU.”THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountIn the EU, opening doors is hard work, not to mention walking through them. We already have a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Europe. A joint study about it was launched in 2007, when Stephen Harper was prime minister. Negotiations officially began in 2009. Agreement in principle was reached in 2013. An actual agreement was signed in 2016. Now, a full decade later, 10 of 27 EU member states still haven’t ratified it. Each has sticking points preventing it from signing on. And we thought herding provinces was hard! If everyone puts their shoulder to the rock and pushes really hard, we might get our new EU status up the hill by 2050 or 2060.If associate membership in the EU is merely symbolic, we should avoid it. And if it’s a real thing, we should avoid it even more.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIf it is merely symbolic, its main purpose is to poke Donald Trump in the eye: if you’re not nice to us, we’re saying, we can go and play with somebody else. Unlike Trump, however, we’re not honest about our motives. President von der Leyen says the Canada-EU “Alliance for the Future” will be “a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength.” But she also says Canada and the EU are simpatico because “we believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest — but to all of us.” The loudest? Who doubts who’s loudest these days: President Donald J. Trump, who’s in our ear hourly.Poking Trump in the eye is unwise both short-term and long-term. Short-term, he does not take eye-poking lightly. You poke, he’s more than likely to pound back. Self-respect demands we not be obsequious. But we made our point by walking away from trade negotiations. Why go looking for more trouble?As for the long term, the one thing about Trump everyone agrees on is his uniqueness: we have not seen his like before. Let’s hope we never do again. When he goes, whether electorally or existentially, things will change. Opening a formal door to Europe may make it at least a little harder to get back to something more like normal with the U.S. We supposedly have been following a wait-Trump-out strategy on CUSMA. A year and a half into that, why the panic?If associate membership in the EU is more than merely symbolic, however, we should head for the exit as quickly as possible. Yes, it would be nice to use the EU lane rather than the “others” when clearing customs at EU airports. But apart from that there’s only trouble. Europe is not quite a sinking ship economically. But compared to the U.S. and China it’s as slowpoke as we are. In economic terms, it’s known mainly for eurosclerosis, which we ourselves caught a bad case of over the past 10 years. It’s still a problem there. “We are doing our best at the European level to cut red tape,” von der Leyen says. “But now … it is time for the Member States to step up.” “Now,” after all these years?Donald Trump says Canada wants all the advantages of being a U.S. state without any of the costs, which is at least partly true — and why not? If we could have all the advantages of being an EU member state — free access to the single market and complete labour and capital mobility — why not that, too? But Europeans won’t grant us all benefits, no costs. In a very Canadian way, they’ll insist we suffer along with them. We will not get Europe without the regulation.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.President von der Leyen says she wants to work with us on: intelligent manufacturing, a tech alliance, integrating defence industrial bases, the Arctic (“a flagship joint project”), energy, critical minerals, batteries (batteries? still? after $54 billion in subsidies?), AI, quantum, cyber and economic security. Before moving on any of these things we’ll now have to co-ordinate with Europe? Lord help us!In a famous speech in Bruges in 1988, Margaret Thatcher declared: “We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels.” In 2016, Britons decided to leave the super-state in order to continue to be, you might say, “masters in their own house.” As Bank of England governor, Mark Carney opposed that. Maybe he wants to make up for his failure to stop Brexit by bringing Canada in.How strange, and sad, for Canada to declare its independence from the United States only to immediately seek a foreign entanglement with Europe. For all the abhorrence of colonialism these days, perhaps we’re just colonists at heart. Maybe we could apply to get back under the U.K.’s wing. Separatist leaders in its regions have just pledged co-operation in working toward its dismemberment. England may soon be looking for a replacement for Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland.Or maybe we could apply to take the place of the village of Piddington, whose 300 citizens just formally voted to quit the U.K. in protest against London’s decision to house more than a thousand male asylum-seekers nearby. If Piddington can go it alone, why can’t we?Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.