EU-Canada relations have entered a new phase following statements made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on 16–17 September 2026.[i] Von der Leyen’s invitation to Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member,” and Carney’s positive response to this approach in his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, indicate that relations between the two sides could extend beyond the framework of a traditional trade partnership. However, the fact that the concept of “associate membership” does not constitute an existing legal status under the EU Treaties demonstrates that the proposal has not yet evolved into a concrete institutional model. Therefore, the current development may be regarded not as a completed membership process, but rather as the emergence of political will to establish a new EU-Canada model of relations.
The development in question is set against the backdrop of increasingly strained Canada-US relations in recent years. With the United States accounting for approximately 70 percent of Canada’s exports, reducing economic dependence has become a strategic priority for Ottawa. Tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration on Canadian products, restrictions on Canadian goods in public procurement, and rhetoric calling for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state have made tensions in Ottawa-Washington relations more visible. Against this backdrop, Canada’s efforts to deepen its relations with Europe represent not only a search for new markets, but also a diversification policy in terms of foreign policy and economic security.
Carney’s speech in Strasbourg outlined the scope of this approach. The Canadian Prime Minister proposed expanding cooperation with the EU into areas such as critical minerals, the defence industry, artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure, energy security, space, payment systems, and digital trade. In addition, proposals concerning human mobility, including expanding opportunities for young people to study, work, and live on both sides, as well as Canada’s participation in the Erasmus+ programme, were also raised. Accordingly, Ottawa’s approach aims not merely to increase trade volumes, but to strengthen economic, technological, security, and societal ties within a common framework.
At this point, the concept of “strategic autonomy” draws particular attention. Carney has argued that closer cooperation between Europe and Canada could help prevent external actors from using markets, supply chains, or strategic capabilities as instruments of coercion. This approach is consistent with the concept of strategic autonomy that Europe has sought to develop in recent years. In particular, reducing dependence on a single country or company in areas such as critical minerals, energy, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and the defence industry has become a key feature of the emerging international system, in which economic security and national security are increasingly intertwined.[ii] In this regard, Canada’s energy and critical mineral resources and Europe’s large market, research capacity, and production infrastructure have the potential to complement one another. The Canadian government has also explicitly emphasized that the economic and technological capacities of the two sides can complement each other.
The security dimension of cooperation is at least as important as its economic dimension. Canada’s becoming the first non-European country to join the EU’s SAFE defence initiative in 2026 demonstrates that relations have already begun to deepen in the field of defence. In addition, Canada’s application to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force and its increasing involvement in European defence industry initiatives demonstrate Ottawa’s efforts to strengthen its ties with the European security architecture.[iii] The EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) also notes that defence cooperation between Canada and Europe could be expanded, particularly in the Baltic region, Ukraine, and the Arctic.
The Arctic region, in particular, could become one of the most important strategic areas for this partnership in the future. Canada’s geographical position in the Arctic converges with Europe’s growing interest in the region. The increasing importance of the Arctic in terms of energy resources, critical infrastructure, maritime routes, and security is creating a new area of geopolitical cooperation between Canada and Europe. The EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) notes that joint Canada-EU initiatives could be developed in areas such as energy, climate security, and the protection of critical infrastructure. The protection of critical maritime and subsea infrastructure in the North Atlantic and the Arctic is also emerging as a key area in this context.
However, the proposal faces significant institutional and political obstacles. Above all, “associate membership” is not a status defined under EU law. Therefore, it remains unclear in which areas Canada would be integrated into EU mechanisms, what rights it would have, and what obligations it would assume. Carney has also made it clear that Canada is not seeking full membership, stating that the substance of the status matters more than its name. According to the European Parliament, Canada’s approach is to establish as close an economic and political relationship with the EU as possible while avoiding the transfer of sovereignty that could arise from full EU membership.[iv]
There are also differing approaches to the proposal within the EU. While some European actors support a stronger partnership with Canada, others remain more cautious due to the legal uncertainty surrounding the concept. In particular, the fact that CETA has still not been ratified by all EU member states demonstrates that institutional and political obstacles exist even at the current level of Canada-EU relations. Moreover, the EU’s single market treats the free movement of goods, services, capital, and persons as an inseparable whole, which would constitute a significant negotiating issue with regard to the closer economic integration proposed by Carney.
Another dimension of the development concerns Washington’s reaction. Trump described Canada’s rapprochement with the EU on such a scale as “ridiculous” and warned that new tariffs or trade restrictions could be imposed on Europe if the initiative were perceived as hostile by the United States.[v] Thus, the deepening of Canada-EU relations has evolved beyond being solely a matter of economic and political relations between the two sides and has become linked to the future of transatlantic relations as well. In response, Carney emphasized that the initiative was not intended to form a bloc against any third country, but rather aimed primarily at strengthening the economic and political resilience of Canada and Europe.
In conclusion, Canada’s rapprochement with the EU around the concept of “associate membership” can, in its current form, be regarded less as the emergence of a new category of membership than as a concrete example of the search for strategic partnerships among middle powers in a changing international system. For Canada, the key issue is to establish new trade, technological, and security links through Europe while reducing its economic dependence on the United States. For the EU, Canada represents an important partner capable of supporting Europe’s capacities in areas such as critical minerals, energy, defence, artificial intelligence, Arctic security, and democratic resilience. Therefore, the EU-Canada Summit planned to take place in Montreal in October 2026 will be critical in determining whether the political rhetoric can be translated into concrete institutional mechanisms. As the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) has also noted, if a potential new partnership agreement were to cover areas such as foreign policy coordination, defence, economic security, technology, energy, and democratic resilience, Canada-EU relations could serve as a model for new forms of partnership with like-minded democratic partners beyond Europe in the future.
[i] Giuseppe Spatafora, “The EU’s first associate member? How to make EU-Canada ties stronger and tighter”, EUISS, https://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/commentary/eus-first-associate-member-how-make-eu-canada-ties-stronger-and-tighter, (Date Accessed: 17.09.2026).
[ii] Sakshi Venkatraman, “Canada becoming EU ‘associate member’ would be positive move, Carney says”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cx3051ye5j0nt, (Date Accessed: 17.09.2026).
[iii] Jennifer Rankin, “Canada’s Carney embraces EU associate membership proposal”, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/17/mark-carney-deep-cooperation-canada-eu-strasbourg, (Date Accessed: 17.09.2026).
[iv] Rob Gillies, “EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says she wants Canada to become the bloc’s 1st associate member”, AP News, https://apnews.com/article/europe-canada-carney-associate-member-3fdb111dd4d23d88b3de88c274c52711, (Date Accessed: 17.09.2026).
[v] Sam Meredith, “Carney says Canada will decide its own partnerships after Trump calls EU proposal ‘laughable’”, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/17/carney-canada-eu-associate-member.html, (Date Accessed: 17.09.2026).
