Earlier today, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, opening in French before moving between French and English, reflecting Canada’s two official languages.
Prime Minister Carney received a warm reception in the chamber as he advocated for a significantly deeper political and economic alliance between Canada and the European Union. His speech followed the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in which she announced that Canada was to become the EU’s first “associate member”.
The growing relationship has also been welcomed by French MEPs. French Socialist MEP Chloé Ridel said that Prime Minister Carney “embodies resistance to Trump”, while Renew Europe MEP Pascal Canfin described his invitation to Strasbourg as a courageous gesture and stressed that Canada is an ally of Europe.
In his speech, Prime Minister Carney stressed that Canada was not seeking to build a new bloc to compete with other great powers.
“I’m not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival, only with better manners,” he told MEPs.
Instead, Carney argued that Europe and Canada should build greater resilience together so that neither can be subjected to economic coercion or threats to their sovereignty, democratic institutions and open markets. “Europe and Canada are stronger together,” he said, adding that a deeper alliance could become “a beacon for other democracies”.
The Canadian Prime Minister specifically highlighted artificial intelligence as an area where greater coordination could benefit both sides. Europe and Canada could cooperate on AI safety standards and infrastructure while combining their research and technological capabilities, allowing both economies to innovate without becoming excessively dependent on larger foreign powers. He also proposed closer participation by Canadians in European research and education programmes, including Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.
The increasingly close relationship comes at a time when both Canada and Europe are attempting to strengthen their strategic autonomy amid trade tensions with the United States and China.
You can view the full speech here.
Newsroom
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