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Canada Woos Europe as US Trade Rift Deepens
(MENAFN) Canada is fast-tracking efforts to forge closer economic and strategic bonds with Europe as its relationship with the United States sinks into its most severe trade tensions in decades, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has engaged in talks with European counterparts — including leaders in France, Germany, and Italy — to explore pathways that would draw Canada nearer to the EU without seeking full membership, according to the report.
Canadian officials are weighing a possible "associate membership" arrangement that would grant expanded access to the EU's $21 trillion single market, with particular focus on strategic industries such as energy, AI, critical minerals, and defense.
Two developments involving US President Donald Trump — his push to gain control of Greenland and his conflict with Iran — have bolstered the argument among some European leaders for tightening ties with Canada. Carney has broadened his diplomatic outreach to include leaders traditionally aligned with Trump, such as Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, while sustaining regular communication with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
By summer, Canadian and European officials had intensified negotiations across several diplomatic channels. During preliminary G7 discussions held in France, the two sides pinpointed 11 potential areas for expanded cooperation, aimed at cutting reliance on American technology, defense equipment, and trade.
Pace and Scope of Proposals Catch Officials Off Guard
Carney's meeting with Macron in Paris, held ahead of the G7 summit in Évian this June, reportedly caught French officials off guard by how quickly and extensively Canada's proposals had developed. Around the same time, Carney maintained close contact with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as the two nations wrapped up negotiations on Canada's planned $25 billion acquisition of German submarines.
The broader talks could extend to easing worker mobility, expanding research partnerships and university exchange programs, and deepening cooperation on data centers, undersea cables, cloud infrastructure, and satellite networks.
Carney is also pushing to strengthen Canada's energy ties with Europe, including infrastructure that would allow Canadian natural gas to reach European markets and help reduce the continent's dependence on Russian energy supplies.
The push reflects Ottawa's broader effort to loosen its heavy economic reliance on the US, which currently absorbs two-thirds of Canada's exports — a dependency that makes diversification a formidable challenge.
Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, is wagering that stronger European ties can help Canada weather pressure from Washington while steering its economy away from decades of US-centered orientation.
European governments, for their part, have responded to the overture with caution, with some officials wary that a dramatic realignment in EU-Canada relations could inflict further damage on ties with Washington.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has engaged in talks with European counterparts — including leaders in France, Germany, and Italy — to explore pathways that would draw Canada nearer to the EU without seeking full membership, according to the report.
Canadian officials are weighing a possible "associate membership" arrangement that would grant expanded access to the EU's $21 trillion single market, with particular focus on strategic industries such as energy, AI, critical minerals, and defense.
Two developments involving US President Donald Trump — his push to gain control of Greenland and his conflict with Iran — have bolstered the argument among some European leaders for tightening ties with Canada. Carney has broadened his diplomatic outreach to include leaders traditionally aligned with Trump, such as Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, while sustaining regular communication with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
By summer, Canadian and European officials had intensified negotiations across several diplomatic channels. During preliminary G7 discussions held in France, the two sides pinpointed 11 potential areas for expanded cooperation, aimed at cutting reliance on American technology, defense equipment, and trade.
Pace and Scope of Proposals Catch Officials Off Guard
Carney's meeting with Macron in Paris, held ahead of the G7 summit in Évian this June, reportedly caught French officials off guard by how quickly and extensively Canada's proposals had developed. Around the same time, Carney maintained close contact with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as the two nations wrapped up negotiations on Canada's planned $25 billion acquisition of German submarines.
The broader talks could extend to easing worker mobility, expanding research partnerships and university exchange programs, and deepening cooperation on data centers, undersea cables, cloud infrastructure, and satellite networks.
Carney is also pushing to strengthen Canada's energy ties with Europe, including infrastructure that would allow Canadian natural gas to reach European markets and help reduce the continent's dependence on Russian energy supplies.
The push reflects Ottawa's broader effort to loosen its heavy economic reliance on the US, which currently absorbs two-thirds of Canada's exports — a dependency that makes diversification a formidable challenge.
Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, is wagering that stronger European ties can help Canada weather pressure from Washington while steering its economy away from decades of US-centered orientation.
European governments, for their part, have responded to the overture with caution, with some officials wary that a dramatic realignment in EU-Canada relations could inflict further damage on ties with Washington.
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