European Union

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has urged the 10 EU countries that have yet to ratify the bloc’s trade deal with Canada to do so, as he seeks closer ties with Europe after trade talks with Washington collapsed.

Carney made the plea to the 10 countries — Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia — in an interview with the Financial Times, arguing that closer ties with Europe were the best approach in an uncertain world. He said the trade deal was a “positive initiative” which is good for Europe and for Canada, adding that it would make both sides “more sovereign, more resilient, more independent” and more prosperous.

BRUSSELS — Locked in a trade war with President Donald Trump and pivoting pivoting away from the United States, Canada is seeking stronger ties in Europe and Asia as a shield against Washington’s volatility.

On Wednesday, sitting as a guest of honor inside the European Parliament, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received an unprecedented offer: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wants to make Canada the first “associate member” of the 27-nation bloc.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe wants to open the door for Canada to become an “associate member” of the European Union.

Prime Minister Mark Carney listened on in the front row as von der Leyen laid out key pillars for stronger co-operation between Europe and Canada in Strasbourg, France.

In her state of the union address, she said the two must “urgently reimagine” their partnership, and move beyond just a free-trade agreement.

Dear @MarkJCarney we want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible.

I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the EU.

And create a common prosperity and economic security space. pic.twitter.com/GqIjGBz6aY

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 16, 2026

Trade talks between Canada and the United States have stalled once again, and this time Prime Minister Mark Carney isn’t waiting around for President Donald Trump to make a deal. Before his scheduled address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg later this week, Carney has floated the idea of making Canada an “associate member” of the European Union to help deepen strategic and economic ties with the bloc. Ever since he secured his majority government last year, Carney’s Liberals have been pursuing a diversification policy away from trade reliance on the US toward Europe, China, India and ASEAN countries.

OTTAWA — Conservatives are demanding Prime Minister Mark Carney explain what “enhanced labour mobility” with the European Union could mean for Canada, warning any new agreement should not open the door to Europe’s migration policies.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner issued the warning Monday after Carney confirmed his government wants to pursue a deeper relationship with the 27-member bloc.

We already have our own migrant crisis. Labor mobility means dumping the EU’s migrants on Canada.

Carney told Bloomberg he’s not seeking EU membership—just a “unique alliance.” Then he listed deeper defence procurement (SAFE), AI, compute, minerals, energy, research, and “elements of enhanced labour mobility,” while admitting the EU’s four freedoms come as a package

That’s… pic.twitter.com/RbkZP7Q0xa

— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) September 14, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cozying up to the European Union has been cast as a bid to control Canada’s destiny in a rapidly changing world.

But several countries that already have close ties to the EU have cited the desire for control and sovereignty as a reason to ultimately reject deeper integration or full-fledged membership in the 27-country bloc.

Most recently, in late August, voters in Iceland rejected a referendum question about restarting talks to formally join the EU.

Prime Minister Mark Carney described Canada as the “most European of non-European countries” at a joint summit in Brussels last summer. This eye-raising remark led some political pundits and columnists (including me ) to speculate that his personal mission wasn’t to improve relations with the U.S., but to jump into the “waiting arms” of the European Union.

If that was his ultimate goal, it seemed rather unrealistic from the very beginning.