STRASBOURG, France -- With Prime Minister Mark Carney sitting front row, the president of the European Commission declared to her Parliament, that she wants to bring the relationship with Canada “to the highest level possible.”
In her widely watched State of the Union address to the EU Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen stated plainly, with Carney seated to her left: “I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU.”
As she said it, many elected officials in the chamber rose from their seats and applauded. Carney got out of his, walked up to her podium, and shook von der Leyen’s hand.
She made this declaration after speaking at length about the challenges Europe is facing and her aspirations for the year ahead.
Von der Leyen also said that at this moment in geopolitics, the EU needs to “urgently reimagine our partnerships,” and that she sees Canada as an ideal country to do that with.
“We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well,” she said.
And in perhaps an effort not to rile U.S. President Donald Trump, von der Leyen said this partnership with Canada is “not against anyone else, but for our common strength.”
“Mark, your presence here is a symbol of the enduring friendship between our people. Our cultural, historical and personal links run deep in the fabric of our societies,” von der Leyen said.
Her address was the marquee event of the prime minister’s first day in Strasbourg.
Carney received a warm welcome as he entered the chamber -- known locally as the hemicycle -- a reception he’ll be hoping to replicate tomorrow when he gets up to address the same body.
Immediately after the idea of Canada becoming any form of member of the EU was first floated over the weekend, Carney was quick to pour cold water on the idea.
Whether that remains the case could be seen Thursday, depending on what the prime minister decides to say.
As von der Leyen spoke, Carney could be seen taking notes. The invitation for him to attend has been characterized by sources close to the prime minister as an indication of how seriously Europeans are taking the relationship with Canada.
According to his office, his seemingly very positive reaction to Wednesday’s suggestion of Canada becoming an associate member was an acknowledgement of a mutual desire for a deeper partnership. In a formal comment issued to travelling media, the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney welcomes the proposal, but characterized it as merely an offer for the two to move beyond existing agreements.
“Canada is deepening and widening its relationship ... to strengthen our sovereignty,” the statement reads. “This is a unique, positive approach that we will define together.”
A Carney spokesperson noted that also in the address, the European Commission president described what she wants to pursue as a voluntary “Alliance for the Future to create a common prosperity and economic security space” that would take the transatlantic relationship beyond the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
While von der Leyen touted that CETA has increased trade by 75 per cent in less than a decade, there are still holdout member states that have yet to ratify the pact, an indication that any form of Canadian membership may face similar resistance if anything more than informal.
Citing Europe and Canada’s shared values -- from a belief in democracy and standing by Ukraine, to combatting climate change and harnessing critical minerals -- von der Leyen noted a list of areas where she sees this new “alliance for the future” focusing.
That list included: aligning on intelligent manufacturing, integrating defence industrial bases, creating a new technology alliance, and “making the Arctic a flagship joint project.”
Amid a flurry of questions over von der Leyen’s use of the word membership, the Canadian delegation made EU ambassador-designate Jonathan Wilkinson available. In a brief scrum with reporters, he said he thinks the two sides are still far from landing on the best way to describe the relationship, and that “associate membership” is still on the table. '
“It’s nomenclature,” Wilkinson said when asked if it’s all just semantics. “There are a bunch of different things that people have used to describe what this could be. I think we’ve actually got to get to the point where we know what we’re describing, which is moving forward with some of the specific initiatives that we have proposed, that they have proposed back to us.”
Though Wilkinson was clear straight up EU membership – becoming then the 28th member state – is not what Canada is looking for.
“That is a sovereignty issue, and people give up certain portions of their sovereignty. But at the end of the day, what we are looking to do is get as close as we possibly can in manner that’s going to actually strengthen all of our respective countries,” the incoming ambassador said.
Wilkinson noted that it’s not that Canada doesn’t like the “associate member” terminology. He also remarked Carney has characterized this amorphous concept as a unique alliance.
“All I’m saying is, before you actually get to the point where you decide what you’re going to call something, you should actually know the shape of it. And we are still in the process of defining the shape and defining how far we’re going to be able to go.”
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Carney and von der Leyen also had a meeting Wednesday, during which they agreed to “move beyond” CETA, to “a far stronger, more ambitious alliance in the future.”
The two also discussed a wide range of issues, including transatlantic security and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
While in Strasbourg, Carney also met with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
Speaking to reporters before the prime minister’s trip to Europe, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Canada already has trade and defence agreements with the EU, in the form of CETA and NATO.
“We want Canada to have free trade with Europe, co-operation with Europe, but we will never surrender our independence and sovereignty over our laws, our tax money, and our immigration policies,” Poilievre said.
He added the Conservatives want to see “an economic action plan” to support Canadians struggling with the cost of living, rather than an unclear goal of potentially conforming to European systems and policies.