Carney eyeing defence and trade focus in alliance with EU

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Parliament as the two nations move toward a deeper strategic partnership, following an announcement Wednesday that opened the door to Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member.

Metsola noted "potential for closer collaboration on the issues that matter to people, to families and to industry on both sides of the Atlantic" across "defence and trade to energy, education and research." She described the development as "a huge positive step forward" with potential for improved cooperation "on so many different levels."

Carney welcomed the ambition. "Yesterday, President von der Leyen spoke of moving beyond CETA to an Alliance for the Future - opening the door to Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member. We welcome this ambition," he said.

On Wednesday, von der Leyen proposed for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU, bringing the bloc’s relationship with Canada as close as possible without the country becoming a member state.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the address as a guest of honour, as it works together with the EU to deepen economic, defence, and trade ties.

Von der Leyen explained that Canada’s relationship to the EU as associate member will include the creation of a tech alliance, integration of security bases, and a joint defence project in the arctic. Already, EU trade agreements with Canada rose by 80% over 2025, she explained.

“This is not a partnership against others, but for our common strength,” Von der Leyen specified.

The Prime Minister outlined specific proposals for deepening the alliance. He called for "deep cooperation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, artificial intelligence and compute, energy security, space, and payments."

The remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the proposed arrangement could be a "hostile act" and threatened heavy tariffs on Europe. United States President Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with severe trade penalties if the bloc moves forward with its proposal to make Canada its first-ever associate member.

Trump told reporters the plan was "laughable", adding: "If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on many things."

Carney did not name Trump but addressed his concerns directly, saying "Economic integration is now being weaponised, tariffs being used to exert pressure."

Carney proposed Canadian membership in Erasmus+, the EU student exchange scheme, and participation in Horizon, the European research funding programme. On energy, he said Canada can "contribute LNG and hydrogen at large scale to support Europe's energy security including by developing and leveraging new port infrastructure in the high north and on our east coast."

He also proposed "seamless, digital trade in non-agricultural goods and a wide range of services" and called for allowing citizens to "live, work and study where they want on either side of the Atlantic."

Carney stressed he was "not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival, only with better manners." He added: "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."