Evan Bray: What would 'associate' EU membership mean for Canada?
There's been a lot of talk about Canada possibly becoming an "associate member" of the European Union. Evan Br...
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to France on Tuesday ahead of his address to the European Parliament, where he hopes to secure deeper ties with the European Union.
Carney was invited by Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament — a role similar to parliamentary Speaker — to address the 720 representatives of the EU’s 27 member states in Strasbourg, France.
Carney’s visit comes as he attempts to craft what he calls “a unique alliance” with Europe based on shared values and priorities.
“We’re having pretty broad-ranging conversations across a number of sectors,” Canada’s Ambassador to the EU Jonathan Wilkinson told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.
“It’s not everything. It’s the areas in which we actually think by working together we can really help each other,” said the former energy minister, citing prospects for joint efforts on critical minerals, nuclear and hydrogen energy, AI and supercomputing.
EU Ambassador to Canada Geneviève Tuts said last week that both sides are identifying areas for further co-operation beyond the existing trade deal, defence industry pact and strategic partnership.
It’s not clear what this new agreement will look like. The Wall Street Journal suggested this past weekend that Carney was exploring Canada becoming an “associate member” of the European Union. No such associate member status exists.
Standing on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Carney was asked about the Wall Street Journal report. He said Canada is not looking to become a member of the European Union but is seeking a “unique alliance” with the economic bloc.
Tuts said it’s not likely any new deal will be finalized this week in Strasbourg.
She said a deal might emerge during the EU-Canada summit set for Oct. 29 and 30 in Montreal. Carney will host European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at that event.
Already, Brussels is planning to encourage members of the European Parliament to meet more with Canadian MPs and senators. On Monday, Metsola announced that the European Parliament will open a new office in Ottawa to facilitate more exchanges.
Carney will arrive in Strasbourg as von der Leyen prepares to deliver a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday — a priority-setting policy speech similar to the U.S. president’s State of the Union address. Carney is expected to meet with von der Leyen after her speech.
Carney is expected to travel to Manchester, England, on Wednesday evening and then to Liverpool. There he’s expected to meet with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham — who took on the role only two months ago — and attend Everton’s match in the Carabao Cup later that evening.
Burnham’s father died earlier this week and the Guardian newspaper reported he cancelled his engagements for Monday and Tuesday. A senior government official told The Canadian Press that as of Monday, Carney’s Wednesday meeting with Burnham was still expected to go ahead.
Carney is set to fly back to Strasbourg on Wednesday to deliver a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday.
The senior government source, speaking on background, said Carney isn’t expected to make any new announcements in Strasbourg.
The source said that, along with closer defence and trade ties, Carney is seeking stronger people-to-people ties with Europe. How that might work is still being settled, the source said.
Hans-Gert Poettering was president of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. He said that ever since Carney’s widely publicized speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, European leaders have looked to the prime minister for guidance on coping with predatory great powers.
“He is a political leader who shows us that we should not subordinate (ourselves) to authoritarian countries,” Poettering told The Canadian Press during a visit last week to Ottawa.
He said members of the European Parliament are hoping Carney will come to France with “very concrete” ideas on trade, energy and minerals, and a vision for defending shared values.
“These values are the dignity of the human being, freedom, democracy, legal order and peace — and that we can give a message to the world, and that invite countries to join in this,” Poettering said.
“We need concrete action and the commitment to our common values.”
Wilkinson said Carney’s goal is not to join the EU but to seek more collaboration.
“Joining is a bridge too far for us,” he said.
“We are interested in getting much closer and deeper to the European Union in a manner that actually enables us to create more economic opportunity and to create more economic security. But not so close that we actually are losing our ability to make important decisions.”
Carney’s visit comes as European leaders grapple with economic, environmental and migration crises, and the continued rise of far-right parties. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has caused fuel prices to spike and tested European resolve.
European leaders have accused Russia of backing acts of sabotage within NATO countries. They have accused the Kremlin of paying youths online to vandalize railways used to transport military aid to Ukraine, and of launching drone incursions that have halted operations at European airports.
Roger Hilton, a non-resident fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute based in Vienna, said that while Canada is looking to diversify its trade away from the United States, the EU isn’t an adequate substitute.
“There are so many issues that Europe itself internally are fighting with. Whether it’s political issues, a lack of competitiveness, digitalization, national debt, demographics,” Hilton said.
“Don’t get me wrong, the EU is a trade behemoth. But the idea that Canada can go all-in on the EU — and that will in, let’s say 10 years, rectify a lot of problems of what we’re dealing with, with the EU, is not the case. The EU itself is not America, it’s not China or Asia in terms of its dynamism.”
The European Parliament has two homes, with committees primarily meeting in Brussels and most large plenary meetings taking place in Strasbourg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2026
Nick Murray and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
