Carney pitches sweeping Canada-EU alliance on minerals, AI and defence
Canada's PM Mark Carney has called for a far-reaching strategic alliance with the EU, a day after Brussels opened the door to associate membership.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a sweeping strategic alliance with the European Union, proposing joint work on critical minerals, artificial intelligence, defence and trade in an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The speech came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her annual State of the European Union address, said she was opening the door for Canada to become an associate member of the bloc.
Carney welcomed that ambition, saying it pointed beyond the existing CETA trade agreement towards an "Alliance for the Future". He said polling shows an overwhelming majority of Canadians back much closer ties with Europe, and described Canada as a dependable partner rather than a fair-weather ally.
Setting out the geopolitical backdrop, Carney said societies are being shaken by climate-related upheaval, weakening democratic norms and the use of trade as a weapon. Multilateral institutions have been eroded, he said, and economic integration is now being deployed as an instrument of pressure, with tariffs used to coerce.
Technology, he added, is reshaping warfare, economies and the capacity of states to govern. He warned that technology platforms are seeking sovereignty of their own — setting terms of access, dictating or circumventing regulation, controlling data and spreading disinformation. Such pressures, he said, amount to a ferocious storm that a single tree cannot withstand but a forest can.
On the substance of a deeper partnership, Carney said Canada and Europe should secure strategic autonomy through cooperation across critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security, space and payments. He also proposed moving towards seamless digital trade in non-agricultural goods and a broad range of services, and deepening people-to-people ties so that young people can live, work and study on either side of the Atlantic.
On energy, he said Canada can contribute liquefied natural gas and hydrogen at large scale to support Europe's energy security, including by developing and using new port infrastructure in the high north and on Canada's east coast.
Carney framed the proposed alliance as strong enough to prevent outside powers from dictating choices, open enough for others to join, and principled enough that its strength reinforces international law rather than replacing it. He said Canada and Europe are each strong, and stronger together.