The European Union’s recent overtures toward giving Canada special recognition in the bloc are heavily reliant on a view of Canada as a like-minded democracy to European partners.
That was a key message in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s September speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “A Canada-EU alliance would create a beacon for other democracies,” he said, while also warning about the erosion of democratic norms – making an obvious wink at the United States.
