Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed the European Union’s plan to make Canada the bloc’s first associate member and said Parliament in Ottawa would debate and vote on any final deal.
Speaking to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, Carney said Canada and Europe are stronger together. He did not name President Trump but said economic integration is being weaponized, with tariffs used to exert pressure, financial tools used for coercion, and supply chains treated as weak points. The comments came after Trump called the EU idea “laughable,” labeled Canada a “terrible trade partner,” and warned of heavy tariffs on Europe if he judged the move a hostile act.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the associate-member idea a day earlier, saying she wants the Canada-EU relationship at the highest level possible. No such category exists under current EU treaties; it would have to be created and ratified by member states. Canada and the EU already have the CETA trade pact, which removed 99 percent of tariff lines when it provisionally took effect in 2017.
Carney told reporters the process is positive and that a stronger, more sovereign Canada would be a more effective partner for the United States. He said Canadians will decide their own language, culture, and international agreements, and that he is not proposing a rival power bloc. Von der Leyen said the two sides would move from CETA toward a broader alliance covering trade, economic security, artificial intelligence, climate, geopolitics, and Arctic security.
