Canada’s Mark Carney and the EU shrug off Trump’s threats, looking to forge an “Alliance for the Future”

Strasbourg, France — Canada and its Prime Minister Mark Carney have drawn regular scorn from President Trump as the two nations remain locked in an escalating trade war, but European leaders gave the visiting Canadian premier a standing ovation on Thursday.

Carney embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union’s first associate member, shrugging off a threat by Mr. Trump and saying closer ties with the EU would ensure no country could control Canada’s markets or undermine its sovereignty.

In a speech to the European Parliament, Carney repeatedly extolled cooperation between Europe and Canada — but the now-souring relationship with the U.S., which has defined Canada’s economy for decades, hung over the Thursday address.

Mr. Trump’s tariffs, demands for economic concessions, and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbor and seek a far deeper economic, security and political relationship with Europe.

Carney told the parliament that he welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s partnership proposal, unveiled Wednesday, though he acknowledged that “associate membership” remains to be defined.

But the Canadian leader outlined his own vision: deeper integration across trade, defense, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, space, research and financial services to make both sides less vulnerable to economic and geopolitical pressure. He later told reporters he was not pursuing full membership of the EU.

“We do not seek power to dominate others,” he said. “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.”

Carney got a warm welcome when he walked into the chamber in Strasbourg, France — with many lawmakers coming up to shake his hand and pose for selfies. His address got a standing ovation. 

Trump says EU-Canada “hostile act” would draw more tariffs

Speaking Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, after von der Leyen floated the idea of welcoming Canada as an associate EU member, Mr. Trump threatened to respond by imposing more tariffs on the European bloc, possibly even cutting off trade completely in certain areas.

Mr. Trump conditioned his latest threat on the “intention” of European leaders, saying: “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.”

He didn’t say how he would discern the intentions of any eventual move by the EU to grant Canada a new, special status with the bloc, but he mocked the prospect as “laughable” and called America’s neighbor to the north a “terrible trade partner.”

New bridges to replace the “old world order”?

Carney’s address appeared to show his determination to push forward in shaping a new “world order,” without shedding any tears over what he said in January was the death of the old one.

For generations, Canada built its economy around integration with the United States. But in a very loosely veiled jab at the world’s longtime singular superpower, Carney warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos that great powers like the United States were using economic dependence to bully smaller nations.

He said there had been a “rupture in the world order” and warned that when countries negotiate alone with a dominant power, “we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered.”

“We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it,” Carney said in Davos. “We believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just. This is the task of the middle powers.”

He clearly signaled his desire to forge closer ties with Europe in that address eight months ago, touting “a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU” to deepen defense procurement collaboration, as well as “efforts to build a bridge” economically that he said “would create a new trading bloc of 1.5 billion people,” combining European and Canadian markets.

Mr. Trump rebuked him the next day, and Carney’s speech on Thursday could further strain the relationship with the U.S.

“As close as we possibly can”

The “associate member” status that von der Leyen proposed for Canada does not currently exist in the bloc’s treaties, and it would have to be created and the terms negotiated. 

She said Europe wants to take its relationship with Canada to “the highest level possible,” moving beyond their existing free trade agreement to create an “Alliance for the Future” encompassing a “common prosperity and economic security space.”

Carney will host EU leaders for a summit in Montreal on Oct. 29 and 30, where the two sides are expected to discuss the proposed new relationship in more detail.

Canada sends roughly 70% of its exports to the United States, making it highly exposed to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Ottawa has, nonetheless, retaliated and rejected U.S. demands that Carney says threaten Canadian sovereignty. Europe took a different path, shelving retaliation and accepting tariffs of up to 15% on most EU exports to the U.S.

Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, said Wednesday that Canada is not seeking full EU membership because that would require surrendering some sovereignty. Instead, Ottawa wants “to get as close as we possibly can” to Europe while increasing Canada’s independence.

Canada has already taken a major step toward European integration. This year it became the first non-European country to join the EU’s 150-billion-euro ($173 billion) SAFE defense procurement program, giving Canadian companies access to joint procurement as Europe increases defense spending. The two sides have also discussed closer cooperation on energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and digital trade.

“The policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration are clearly pushing both Canada and the EU to imagine a world without strong U.S. leadership and to act accordingly,” said Daniel Béland, a political-science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, said: “Carney’s shrewdness in dealing with Trump has captured Europe’s attention.” 

Wiseman said Europeans have long regarded Canada as a country that understands the United States particularly well because of their deep economic and political ties. Carney’s willingness to resist Mr. Trump rather than quickly accept Washington’s demands has reinforced that perception, he said.