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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the European Union’s ambition to make Canada an associate member of the 27 nation bloc, pushing ahead despite sharp criticism and tariff threats from President Donald Trump. Carney said Canadian lawmakers would ultimately debate and vote on the final structure of any alliance.

Addressing EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, Carney framed closer cooperation as a source of mutual strength. “Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together,” he said.

Carney did not identify Trump by name during the speech, but he criticized the use of trade pressure between integrated economies. “Economic integration is now being weaponized — tariffs being used to exert pressure,” Carney said.

Speaking in French, the prime minister also warned about coercive financial tools and vulnerable supply networks. “Financial mechanisms have been used for coercion. Supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited,” he said.

The remarks followed Trump’s dismissal of the proposed relationship as “laughable.” Trump also threatened tariffs against the European Union if he concluded that an associate membership arrangement with Canada amounted to a “hostile act.”

Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Trump described Canada as a “terrible trade partner” and raised the possibility of halting some trade with Europe. “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump said.

The Trump administration recently raised tariffs on Canadian goods, and Canada responded by imposing levies of its own. Carney has pledged to apply reciprocal tariffs against American goods on a dollar for dollar basis.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the European Union wanted to elevate its relationship with Canada “to the highest level possible.” Addressing Carney during her state of the union speech, she proposed working with him “on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union.”

Associate membership is not currently a formal category within EU treaties. Such an arrangement would therefore need to be created and ratified by the bloc’s member states before Canada could enter under that structure.

Carney presented the initiative as a constructive effort that would strengthen Canada rather than weaken its relationship with Washington. “This alliance is a positive process; that’s my response to the American president. A stronger, more resilient, more sovereign Canada will be a more effective partner with the United States,” he told reporters after the speech.

He also rejected the idea that another government should control Canada’s international choices. “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,” Carney said.

The European Union has previously resisted proposals for flexible membership categories. Earlier in the year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed the bloc to consider associate membership for Ukraine, but von der Leyen’s support for Canada now signals a major expansion of ties between Ottawa and Brussels.

Asked whether lawmakers would debate and vote on the future relationship, Carney said parliamentary scrutiny was certain. “Of course, there will be debates, plural, not just a single debate, and there will be a vote in the Canadian parliament. Absolutely, that is clear, but at this particular juncture, we are at the start of a road.”

Carney argued that closer ties could improve collective resilience and “create a beacon” for other democracies. He also said he was not proposing a third bloc designed to become another great power rival.

The European Union and Canada already operate under the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA. The agreement eliminated 99% of all tariff lines when it provisionally took effect in 2017.

“We will move from CETA to an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” von der Leyen said. She added that Canada and the European Union “see the world with the same eyes” and pledged cooperation involving artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics and Arctic security.

Before returning to Strasbourg, Carney met U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday and watched Everton play in Liverpool, England. Downing Street said the leaders emphasized closer European relationships involving trade and defense while also discussing deeper defense cooperation.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.