Carney: Canada and EU are ‘stronger together’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the European Parliament that Canada and the EU should form an “alliance for the future,” a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated making Canada the bloc's first “associate member.” That status doesn't currently exist under EU law and would require treaty changes needing all 27 member states to agree, a detail that surprised several European capitals when von der Leyen raised it.

President Trump called the proposal “laughable” and a possible “hostile act,” threatening “heavy tariffs” and floating a stop to trade with Europe entirely. Carney and von der Leyen maintain the alliance isn't a reaction to Trump, even while Carney's speech leaned heavily on themes of resisting “great powers” that use tariffs and supply chains as leverage.

Canada and the EU already have a partially applied free-trade deal, a defense partnership signed in 2025, and Canada's new membership in the EU's $173 billion SAFE defense program. Bilateral trade between the two hit roughly $147 billion in 2025, with a Montreal summit planned for late October to work out associate membership details.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.