The European Parliament is opening an office in Ottawa as Prime Minister Mark Carney pushes bid for a deeper tie with the European Union and explores what he has described as a “unique alliance” with the bloc.

The decision by the Bureau comes ahead of Carney’s address in Brussels on Thursday, and is intended to strengthen parliamentary relations between Canada and the EU.

The move also comes as the Wall Street Journal reports that Carney is exploring whether Canada could become an “associate member” of the bloc, a potential arrangement that could included discussions around allowing Canadian and EU citizens to live and work across each other’s borders more freely.

Carney threw cold water on the plan on Sunday, saying Canada was planning to discuss a “unique alliance” with the EU, but not associate membership.

Stéphane Dion, Canada’s former special envoy to the European Union, said closer political ties with Europe could play a key role in Carney’s push to diversify Canadian trade, but cautioned against viewing the continent as a replacement for the United States.

“Our trade with the EU is about eight per cent of our trade, when the U.S. is 75,” Dion said in an interview with iPolitics. “To double our export to the EU over 10 years will be quite demanding.”

Canada and the EU traded $191 billion in goods and services in 2025, building on an economic relationship under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

But geography remains one of the biggest advantage in Canada’s deeply integrated trading relationship with the U.S.

Dion pointed out that countries around the world tend to trade disproportionately with their neighbours, noting that France trades roughly as much with Belgium as it does with U.S.’s much larger economy.

However, that doesn’t mean that Canada can’t change the balanced, he said.

“We spoke about this diversification since Pierre Trudeau. Now it’s time to do it really,” Dion said. “It will be important to be very strong in South America, in Asia, in Africa, but you cannot miss Europe – it will be key.”

This is especially evident under Canada’s recent procurement decisions, including selecting German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to build the navy’s new fleet of submarines, as signs of an expanding economic relationship, Dion said. Ottawa is also weighing whether to purchase Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets as it reviews its planned acquisition of U.S.-built F-35s.

Still, Dion said Canadian businesses will need to face a new learning curve as it navigate European markets.

“Our business, except the big exporters, don’t know how to handle Europe,” Dion said. “They are accustomed to have a neighbour in the U.S. — it’s more simple.”

The goal isn’t to find a substitute to the U.S., Dion said, but to ensure the country is less vulnerable from different political shifts down south.

“The EU and Europe as a continent cannot replace the U.S. for us. It’s not realistic,” he said. “But what is realistic is that they will help us to be less dependent to the U.S.”

with files from Marco Vigliotti