As the trade war between Canada and the United States (US) continues to escalate, Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for deepening ties with the European Union (EU), even as he maintained that this wouldn’t create a new geopolitical bloc “with better manners”. However, he targeted President Donald Trump and said Canada needs to deepen ties with the EU to create “resilience”.
In his speech at the European Parliament in France’s Strasbourg on Thursday, Carney said a “geopolitical rupture” and “weaponisation of trade” have brought Canada closer to the EU. Without naming anyone, he said tariffs are being openly used to “exert pressure”, while maintaining that supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited.
“No one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” the Canadian prime minister said. “We are pursuing resilience so no one, no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”
Carney’s remarks come after European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen said Canada could become the EU’s first “associate member”. However, like Carney, Leyen had stressed that the partnership was “not against anyone else”.
Trump’s ‘hostile act’ threat to Canada, EU
But Leyen’s suggestion drew sharp reactions from Trump, who said it could be an “hostile act”.
“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility,” he told reporters in North Carolina’s Charlotte on Wednesday.
The relationships between Canada and the US have plunged to a new low after the trade deal failed, and Carney’s visit to Strasbourg was meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.
Canada could help Europe secure supplies of critical raw materials and contribute towards its energy needs with liquified natural gas and hydrogen, Carney said, also offering partnership on AI, compute, space and payments.
The two parties should move towards “seamless digital trade” and allow their young people to work and study on either side of the Atlantic, he said.
On Wednesday, von der Leyen had similarly talked about forming a “tech alliance”, integrating defence industrial bases and making the Arctic “a flagship joint project”.
(With inputs from AFP)
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