Carney embraces EU associate membership proposal as Trump pushes Canada closer to Europe

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union’s first associate member, saying closer ties with the continent would ensure no country could control Canada’s markets or undermine its sovereignty.

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

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 proposal, unveiled Wednesday, though he acknowledged that “associate membership” remains to be defined.

He outlined what he was proposing: 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.”

The prime minister received an ebullient welcome when he walked into the chamber in Strasbourg, France — with many lawmakers approaching him to shake his hand and ask for selfies — and a standing ovation after he spoke. One parliamentarian had donned a Canadian hockey jersey.

Europe offers Canada another path

On Wednesday, von der Leyen proposed making Canada the EU’s first associate member — a status that does not currently exist in the bloc’s treaties and would have to be created. She said Europe wants to take its relationship with Canada to “the highest level possible.”

Carney, sitting in the front row of the chamber, nodded and rose to embrace von der Leyen as lawmakers gave the proposal a standing ovation.

Von der Leyen said Canada and the EU should move beyond their existing free trade agreement and 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. 29-30, when 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 Trump’s tariffs. Ottawa has retaliated and rejected 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.

Trump pushed back on the EU proposal

Trump suggested the proposed EU arrangement could be a “hostile act” and threatened heavy tariffs on Europe if he judged its intentions to be unfriendly — raising the stakes ahead of Carney’s speech.

Asked about Trump’s comments, Carney said Canadians were united in rejecting outside attempts to dictate the country’s choices.

“Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak. No one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” Carney said.

Carney has rallied ‘middle powers’

Carney has repeatedly urged what he calls middle powers to resist economic coercion. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, he warned that when countries negotiate alone with a dominant power, “we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered.”

Trump rebuked him the next day.

Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, said Ottawa wants “to get as close as we possibly can” to Europe while increasing Canada’s independence.

While associate membership remains to be negotiated, Canada has already taken a major step. 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.

Carney said any enhanced partnership with the EU would be debated in Canada’s Parliament and put to a final vote.

“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 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 Trump rather than quickly accept Washington’s demands has reinforced that perception, he said.

“Carney’s shrewdness in dealing with Trump has captured Europe’s attention,” Wiseman said.

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Associated Press writer Lorne Cook contributed from Brussels.

Rob Gillies, The Associated Press