Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Photo: Blair Gable / File Photo / Reuters
According to The Wall Street Journal, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is due to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, 17 September. He will outline his vision for relations with the EU against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in trade relations between Canada and the US.
Washington and Ottawa have imposed high tariffs on each other, and there are as yet no signs of a swift agreement. Against this backdrop, Canada is seeking new markets and wishes to strengthen ties with Europe.
As the WSJ notes, this involves expanding trade in goods and services, as well as joint projects in energy, artificial intelligence, defence and the extraction of critical minerals. Canada and the EU are also discussing undersea cables, data centres, cloud services and satellite networks. Ottawa wants to increase energy supplies to Europe.
The idea of ‘associated membership’ could be one option for such closer ties. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz previously proposed creating a similar arrangement for Ukraine. It would allow the country to work more closely with the EU without joining the bloc.
For Canada, however, such an option would still be challenging. The EU has no established procedure for such a status, and any change to the rules would require the consent of the member states.
At the same time, Canada and France are demonstrating a willingness to strengthen their relations. Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Saint-Pierre and Miquelon next week — a French territory approximately 20 km off the Canadian coast.
Paris has described the trip as a symbol of the close ties between the two countries. The Élysée Palace stated that France and Canada are united by a commitment to defending democracy, the rule of law and state sovereignty.
The visit comes against the backdrop of a new phase of tension with Washington. On Monday, Donald Trump posted a map of North America on Truth Social in which the American flag appeared not only on Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but also on the French territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
This will be Carney’s first visit to Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The last French president to visit the archipelago was François Hollande in 2014.
Under Carney’s leadership, Canada is increasingly seeking ways to reduce its dependence on the US market. Europe could become one of Ottawa’s key partners in this strategy.
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