Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is seeking a “unique alliance” with the European Union as he aims to strengthen international ties amid a deepening trade war with the U.S.
“What we are looking, and will begin discussions for, [is] a unique alliance with the European Union,” Carney told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.
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Carney → say → Sunday
“We share the same values, we have the same priorities, and we have very complementary strengths.”
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we → share → strengths
Canada’s European pivot has been months in the making, following growing tensions between Carney’s government and the Trump Administration.
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pivot → follow → government
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs came into effect last week, matching the economic pressure imposed by the U.S. after negotiations collapsed last month.
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negotiations → come → U.S.
Carney has encouraged Canadians to take back economic power at the kitchen table, and many have embraced a boycott of U.S. products.
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many → encourage → products
Trump has also repeatedly threatened Canada’s sovereignty, speaking openly of his desire to annex the country and make it the “51st state.”
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it → threaten → country
The U.S. accounted for 72.5% of Canadian merchandise exports in 2025, according to the country's annual trade report, making it Canada’s largest trading partner.
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it → account → report
But Carney is keen to build an international support network that isn’t reliant on the U.S.
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that → build → U.S.
At the E.U.-Canada summit in June 2025, Canada established a new Security and Defense Partnership with the bloc.
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Canada → establish → bloc
“Our partnership is grounded in the core values we share: democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and open, rules-based markets," read a joint statement marking the occasion.
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statement → ground → occasion
In January, Carney notably met with China’s President Xi Jinping to forge what he referred to as a “new strategic partnership” to end Canada's economic reliance on the American market.
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he → meet → market
Carney agreed to cut his country’s 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, including canola seeds, a major Canadian export.
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Carney → agree → seeds
Continuing with these efforts, Carney on Monday brought together executives and senior leaders from global investment firms to encourage them to invest in the country at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto.
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Carney → continue → Toronto
He’s heading for a three-day trip to Europe on Tuesday, where he’ll meet with various European leaders including British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
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he → head → Burnham
He’s also set to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday, in what could symbolize the mark of a new era between Canada and Europe.
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what → set → Canada
Here’s a look at the alliance options on the table between Canada and the bloc, and what that could mean for U.S.-Canada relations.
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that → ’ → relations
Is Canada trying to join the E.U.?
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Canada → try → E.U.
Canada is not looking to join the E.U. as a member, Carney clarified amid questions over what a firmer relationship between his country and the 27-member bloc might look like.
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relationship → look → country
“We’re not looking to become a member,” Carney said, emphasizing he’s instead keen to form an alliance.
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he → look → alliance
“We’re stronger together, and this is at a time where the world’s more dangerous and divided, and friends need to stick together in these times.”
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friends → ’re → times
Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union explicitly states that any “European State” can apply for membership, making Canada ineligible.
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Canada → state → membership
However, a report in the Wall Street Journal, quoting officials from both sides, said Carney is keen for Canada to become an “associate member” of the E.U.
When approached for comment, the European Commission directed TIME to remarks made during a Monday press briefing in Brussels.
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Commission → quote → Brussels
“Canada is a strategically important partner for the European Union, and indeed a close friend,” the European Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters.
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spokesperson → tell → reporters
“We deeply value this co-operation.
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We → value → operation
You will recall that at our E.U.-Canada summit last year, we set a very high level of ambition for cooperation across the board, this year our ambition is even higher.
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ambition → recall → board
When asked directly what discussions had taken place between Canadian and European officials, or what this “unique alliance” could look like, Gill declined to answer.
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Gill → ask → what
TIME has reached out to the Canadian Prime Minister’s office for comment.
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TIME → reach → comment
Frank Schimmelfennig, a professor of European politics at ETH Zurich, predicts that Canada may wish to pursue deeper cooperation through additional trade agreements, or take inspiration from countries that have close relationships with the bloc without being E.U. members.
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that → predict → bloc
It has the densest network of institutional relationships with the E.U.,” he tells TIME, referencing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a major free-trade deal between the E.U. and Canada, signed in 2016, and Horizon Europe, an initiative on collaborative research launched by European Union in 2021 and joined by Canada in 2024.
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he → have → 2024
“Canada could have more of the same, which means additional sectoral agreements for sectors that haven't been covered yet,” he says.
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he → have → sectors
Anything more, would mean access to the internal market which would require an arrangement like the EEA.”
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which → mean → EEA
The European Economic Area (EEA) includes countries such as Iceland and Norway, which are not members of the E.U., and provides for the free movement of goods, services, and people within the E.U.’s member states, while enabling cooperation across multiple industries.
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which → include → industries
“The EEA countries have access to the E.U. internal market in return for adopting the relevant E.U. regulations and directives, so that would be a much denser legal integration than what Canada has now,” says Schimmelfennig.
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Schimmelfennig → have → what
Burgeoning E.U. relationship comes amid deepening U.S.-Canada trade rift
At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Carney declared a "rupture" in the international rules-based order.
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Carney → burgeon → order
He said "great powers" were using tariffs and financial systems as instruments of coercion.
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powers → say → coercion
He did not directly name Trump or the U.S.
The speech came at a moment of acute transatlantic tension over Trump’s push to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland and his short-lived threats to tariff European allies until Denmark relented.
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Denmark → name → allies
Patrick Leblond, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, says Carney’s movements now are in response to the world “seeing a United States that is becoming more protectionist, nationalist, and willing to use its leverage points to gain concessions, including on very close allies like Canada and Europeans.”
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that → say → Canada
“For Canada, [the consensus is] we need to do more with partners who share our values based on liberal democracy, open markets, rule of law, international agreements, and the first port of call for Carney is the European Union,” Leblond tells TIME.
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Leblond → need → TIME
These trade efforts, he continues, may allow Carney to “build momentum, and hopefully bring other countries” into a broader coalition of what the Canadian leader has often called “middle powers."
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leader → continue → what
In July, Carney, in a joint op-ed with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, urged the “middle powers of the world” to “unite.”
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powers → urge → world
…and 15 more, not listed.
