Canada welcomes EU proposal to become 'associate member'

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the European Union's ambition for Canada to become its first "associate member", calling for closer cooperation on defence, critical minerals and energy security.

Carney told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday that Canada and Europe were "stronger together" in the face of "geopolitical rupture".

His comments came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed "opening the door" to Canada's associate membership, a status that does not currently exist.

US President Donald Trump earlier called the idea "laughable" and threatened "very serious tariffs" on Europe if he considered it a "hostile act".

Canada and the US are locked in an escalating trade dispute, with each side imposing tit-for-tat tariffs after bilateral talks collapsed last month.

"Today our societies are being battered by new storms," Carney said during his address, naming them as climate change, "the erosion of democratic norms" and the "weaponisation of trade".

"Economic integration is now being weaponised, tariffs being used to exert pressure," he said.

"Financial mechanisms have been used for coercion. Supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited."

He said a Canada-EU alliance would create a "beacon for other democracies", while stressing the two sides were not seeking to form a new power bloc.

"I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival - only with better manners," he told MEPs.

"This is about sovereignty, our ability to live as we wish. We do not seek power to dominate others."

Asked about the proposal on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: "If I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on many things.

"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."

Responding to Trump's comments at a press conference following his address, Carney said: "This alliance is a positive process, that's my response to the American president."

"Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no-one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally," he added.

Carney said Canada was "not in a position, nor seeking, to become a full member of the European Union", describing the proposal as a "different framework".

Speaking at the European Parliament on Wednesday, von der Leyen said she wanted Canada to become the EU's first associate member, with closer cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, technology, defence, energy critical minerals and economic security.

It is unclear exactly what that relationship would look like because the "associate member" status does not currently exist within the EU and could take years to implement.

Any new arrangement would require the agreement of all 27 EU member states, with some governments having previously expressed reservations about creating a new form of membership.

The EU and Canada already have a free-trade agreement, and cooperate in areas including trade, defence and research.

In his address, Carney said Canada and Europe could strengthen their "strategic autonomy" through "deep co-operation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals".

He said Canada could supply liquefied natural gas and hydrogen to support European energy security, while benefiting from Europe's expertise in clean-energy technologies.

He also proposed pooling technological resources and deepening "people to people ties", including allowing young people to "work, study and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic" through Canada joining the EU's Erasmus+ programme.

Carney described the proposed relationship as "a unique, positive approach that we will define together".

He added that there would be a debate and a vote in the Canadian parliament on the proposals, but emphasised the two sides were still at the "start of a road".

A Canada-EU summit is due to take place in Montreal at the end of October, where Carney said they would "drill down the details".