Carney pursuing ‘associate’ EU membership

Here’s how Canada’s new partnership with the European Union could benefit citizens of both countries.
The “youth mobility partnership” would build on existing university exchange programs and working-holiday programs Canada operates, while the pact will give Canadian researchers access to European supercomputers.
The newly signed digital trade agreement would include certain sectors into the existing trade agreement. Canada is also working on joining the EU’s “instant payment systems” to make it easier to send funds.
The European Investment Bank will seek to fund projects to mine critical raw materials in Canada.
Canada has also signed a kind of updated competition agreement with the EU that looks to crack down on anticompetitive actions by transatlantic businesses.
The EU’s border agency is also helping its Canadian counterpart tackle migrant smuggling, human trafficking and identity fraud by exchanging information through the European Border Surveillance System.
Canada also became the only non-European partner in the EU’s defence procurement program SAFE, and Carney announced Friday that Canada will join an EU loan program for Ukraine.

Carney says his team discussed what he called “trade issues that had been bubbling along.” Among them was the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is effectively an import tariff. 

That was one of the issues that negotiators are working to “find common solutions on,” along with EU laws on deforestation mitigation. He did not provide specifics. 

Conservatives have identified CBAM as a priority point for future negotiations.

“The federal government itself assessed that CBAM could impact up to $2.8 billion in Canadian exports. Notably, steel and aluminum are not exempt: adding new stress on industries already struggling amid unjustified U.S. tariffs and sluggish growth,” reads a statement from Conservative Party leaders.

“When the Canada‑EU Summit concludes, will Canada have secured relief from CBAM? Or will we learn that the Prime Minister has made further concessions to the detriment of Canadian workers?” the statement adds. 

Von der Leyen says a closer Canada-EU relationship will lead to “good jobs” for citizens. A larger, integrated market, reduced restrictions and resilient supply chains will contribute to that, she said. 

Associate membership is uncharted territory, von der Leyen said, adding “we have the ambition, trust, and creativity to shape it together.”

“This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength.” 

Von der Leyen has taken the mic.

She says associate membership for Canada was a focus during the two-day summit.

Her idea for such an arrangement is simple, she said.

“It is an association without accession,” she said, later adding: “We can replace the term accession with a common ambition and vision.” 

Canada and the EU have pledged to negotiate expansion of the Erasmus+ education exchange program, according to a joint-statement.

Carney said he hopes the talks lead to a situation where “a Canadian student can pursue their studies in Barcelona just as easily as they could at McGill.”

Carney has taken the podium following a signing ceremony with EU lawmakers.

“Our societies have been shaken by new storms,” he said, referring to the effects of climate change, but also the “erosion of democratic norms” and “the weaponization of trade.” 

Critical minerals are a key focus of the two-day summit.

They are needed for green technologies such as batteries and wind turbines that Europe sources mostly from China but are also in plentiful stock in Canada.

But Canada needs massive infrastructure investment to jump-start its mining industry.

An agreement allowing the European Investment Bank to back Canadian critical mineral projects is expected to be unveiled at the summit. 

Carney’s mention of affordability stood out to political analyst Scott Reid, who said it indicates the prime minister is trying to pitch the EU partnership as a near-term, consumer-level win, not just a strategy for long-term political and economic stability.

“I think a lot of Canadians generally, according to the polls, approve of this strategy,” he said, referring to Carney’s move to deepen trans-Atlantic ties.

“But there’s a challenge ... it’s going to take a lot of time to unfold,” said Reid, who served as director of communications for former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.

“People are also worried about, ‘What’s happening right now? Because tariffs are hitting me now.’ Economic anxiety is creeping now. Growth in our economy is stalled now.”

“It’s not important where a country is on the map,” said von der Leyen. “Important are the values a country defends and where the country stands on international relations.” 

But geography does prevent Canada from joining the EU. And while there has been plenty of talk about a push and a pushback to Canada becoming as ‘associate member’ of the bloc, the EU council president that the relationship is based on a common vision of the world and shared values.

“We are here to build an alliance for the future, the closest, the deepest, the strongest association ever between the EU and a non-European country,” said Costa. 
Genevieve Beauchemin, CTV News Quebec Bureau Chief. 

“We want Canada as close as possible to the European Union,” said von der Leyen, the last to speak among the three this morning. She said they want to create a “common space” with “other trusted partners” to foster resilient supply chains and innovation in space and AI sectors. 

Carney says an EU partnership would make life more affordable for Canadians.

“More competition, more choice,” said the prime minister during opening remarks in Montreal.

Moreover, it would make Canada and the EU more resilient within shifting global dynamics and provide both governments “the ability to withstand shocks, together,” he said.

Carney, flanked by von der Leyen and Costa, have arrived at the Montreal venue for the second day of the EU-Canada summit.

Details on a digital trade deal and stronger commitments on education exchanges – these are the key topics Patrick Leblond will be looking for today.

“I hope it’s going to be very ambitious,” he said, speaking of the digital trade deal expected to be signed. Leblond is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

He also said he hopes to firm up some of the details on Canada’s involvement in Europe’s Erasmus+ program, which co-ordinates student exchanges between member countries. Both von der Leyen and Carney have expressed interest in involving Canada.

Europe's economy persevered with moderate growth in the third quarter despite higher oil prices from the U.S.-Iran war, as gross domestic product increased by 0.4 per cent over the quarter before.

The figure released Friday for the 21 European Union member countries that use the euro currency was better than the 0.2 per cent expected by market analysts. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, the economy of the 21 countries using the euro grew by 1.3 per cent in the July-September period, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.

"All in all, the eurozone economy remains resilient amid geopolitical turmoil and a worsening inflationary environment," wrote Paolo Grignani, senior economist at Oxford Economics. Inflation of 3.8 per cent remains above the two per cent target set out by the European Central Bank. 

While these meetings have been happening for years, this one sees Canada and the EU scaling up their efforts to deepen their commercial and diplomatic relationship.

Costa said he expects to see an agreement on digital trade finalized today, and news on programs for scientific research partnerships and university student exchanges.

Costa added Thursday he wants to see greater labour mobility between Canada and the Europe in addition to opening the door to easier student exchanges. 

Jeremy Kinsman, Canada’s former EU ambassador, said this week’s summit is consequential.
"I've been to a lot of Canada-EU summits over the years. This is easily the most significant one," he said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Thursday.
Kinsman said the summit was "going well," but added there was "confusion" about Canada potentially becoming the EU’s first "associate member." The term was used by von der Leyen in September to potentially define the partnership, and Carney repeated it Thursday in Montreal.
 Kinsman said the possible title reflects the value von der Leyen places on the bloc's relationship with Canada.
"She’s going to not necessarily defend it tooth and claw, but she feels it does validate her notion that this is outreach to Canada, recognition of Canada as being the really prime non-European Union member in a relationship with the EU," Kinsman said.

Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy said what he's heard so far at the Canada-EU summit is "very ambiguous."
For example, he said leaders discussed a program to invite Canadian students to Europe but didn't say anything about inviting European students to Canada.
"While advancing on our ability to co-operate with Europe is a good idea, what we've heard so far is very ambiguous," Axworthy said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Thursday.
"... So, where is the reciprocity in this?"
He said it's "very unclear" what a possible associate membership with the European Union would look like.
"I'm saying it's worth an effort to make these connections, but let’s make sure that they're balanced, that they're fair, that Canada is not simply providing more natural resources.“
Axworthy also said issues such as the threat of artificial intelligence and concerns about migration were missing in the talks.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand met with her EU counterpart in Montreal on Thursday to discuss the importance of their alliance and what it could mean going forward.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said the partnership is more important than ever, given the current geopolitical climate.
“There are countries in the world that want to see a world where whoever has the power can take what they want,” Kallas said. However, she added, most countries want a world based on “some kind of rules.”
Kallas said it is important for the EU to collaborate with “like-minded partners” on shared goals, such as advancing AI, education, trade and security.
Anand emphasized Canada’s goal of building its own national resilience.
“We will enter into partnerships and alliances with countries around the world where that enables us to reach our strategic autonomy,” Anand said. “The EU stands at the forefront of that priority list.”
Both agreed the alliance is not solely a response to the effects of Trump’s tariff war on Canada.
“It’s not about any other country. It’s about us... I think our alliance is not against anybody. It’s for ourselves,” Kallas said. 

Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said the federal government's investment in Canadian AI company Cohere will give Canadians "a seat at the table."

Carney announced Thursday that his government will invest up to $1.6 billion in Cohere during the summit with European leaders in Montreal.

"By investing in a company like Cohere, we're not waiting for AI to be built somewhere else, maybe by people we don't know or by some who we don't trust," Solomon said in an interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Thursday. 

"This will keep Cohere a Canadian company headquartered in Canada. This will keep thousands of jobs here in Canada. This will keep their intellectual property in Canada.”

When Kapelos asked about the size of the equity stake for Canadians, Solomon said he couldn’t disclose that information due to “commercial, sensitive” reasons. 

European Council President Antonio Costa told business leaders at the summit that a digital trade agreement will be approved on Friday.

Costa called it a Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA, for a digital world. It was touted as making it easier for Canadian and European companies to carry out business across the Atlantic Ocean.

Carney also spoke about the potential to bring in policies that will offer more opportunities for young Canadians to study, travel and work in Europe.

But there was another moment of cultural exchange on the margins of the summit.

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller brought his European counterpart, Commissioner of Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef out for poutine, who called it “good.” 

Carney and von der Leyen are meeting with a group of business leaders from key sectors to discuss deepened co-operation in order to make business across the Atlantic easier.

Addressing the room, von der Leyen said, “We're very happy to have you here,” adding that it was significant the summit began with a business leaders forum.

“There are companies in the room that are working, investing and creating good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic,” she said.

Carney said he hoped the business leaders would provide insight into where the greatest opportunities for partnership lie.

“Where do you see the main opportunities for partnership? How can we help to build these markets together as a core of a new global system?” he asked the room.  

U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada has been “treating us extremely nicely lately” since his imposition of tariffs on certain goods.

He claimed the U.S. “lost” US$90 billion “with Canada” last year, though he did not say how. He made the remark during a campaign stop in North Carolina, where he later mused on the bodies of water he has renamed, including Lake Ontario.

“I just named a beautiful lake that fronts on O’ Canada,” he said. He added he could change the name of the Atlantic Ocean to the “American Ocean.” 

Carney remained tight-lipped when asked whether the United States has shifted its position on heavy-duty trucks, saying he does not think it is “constructive” to provide a “running commentary” on the negotiations at this stage.

“I’ll just reinforce that there are mutually beneficial deals between Canada and the United States, given the global environment and the trade environment. But those deals have to be mutually beneficial and, above all, they have to be in the interests of Canadians,” he said. 

Pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that the alliance between Canada and the EU could be a “hostile act” toward the United States, Carney said the partnership will ultimately benefit all countries involved.

Carney repeated his view that a stronger, more independent and more resilient Canada will, in the end, “be a better partner for everyone.”

However, he said “in order to be that, we need to build at home, and we need to diversify our partnerships with reliable partners abroad.”

While Carney emphasized the agreement would be pursued “absolutely in the interests of Canadians,” he said “ultimately, the U.S. will see the benefit.”

Carney doubled down on his view that the name of Canada and the EU’s relationship does not matter in the bigger picture, amid questions about whether Canada will become an “associate member.”

“The nomenclature doesn’t matter. What matters to Canadians ultimately from this new alliance is going to be affordability,” Carney told a room full of reporters.

He stressed that ensuring new opportunities for young Canadians to study abroad, for researchers and companies to access advanced sectors, and, importantly, a renewed national security strategy are more important than the name of the alliance.

“This new alliance is not a marketing exercise. The name doesn’t matter,” he said.

“What matters is that the complementarities of our two jurisdictions strengthen our sovereignty,” he said. 

Canada and the EU are both trying to find an effective response to the geopolitical threats Trump has posed, said Mark Manger, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

"Canada and the EU both are now in this position where the most important ally they relied upon is suddenly not behaving like an ally anymore," he said. Manger said Canada and the EU have an enormous opportunity to expand their relationship, but that it would take time to address regulatory inconsistencies, build new undersea cables linking Canada to Europe and secure common supply chains.

The joint declaration from Canadian and EU leaders, seen by Reuters, also proposes conducting a joint feasibility study on Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe ‌and enabling ⁠young Canadians and Europeans to work across the Atlantic. 

Carney was asked to comment on Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's absence from his EU-Canada summit.

Carney answered that he has “always” practiced “collaborative federalism” with the provinces, and he will continue to do so. Asked whether he considers Quebec to be a nation, he said in French that he sees the “Quebec people” as a nation, linked by language, culture and the civil law legal system.

Carney is kicking off the first day of the EU-Canada Summit with a visit to the Montreal-based artificial intelligence research centre Mila.
He remarked the building blocks of AI were created in Canada, by Geoffrey Hinton, among others.

The Canadian government is making an equity investment of up to $1.6 billion in Cohere, joining a funding round led by Germany's Schwarz Group targeting $7 billion for the Toronto-based AI lab.

Carney’s appearance comes after von der Leyen said Canada and the EU would collaborate on AI.

"Both Canada and Europe believe this technology should serve people. So, we will work together to tackle head on the safety and security issues of runaway AI," said von der Leyen.
Genevieve Beauchemin, CTV News Quebec Bureau Chief. With files from CTVNews.ca journalist Luca Caruso-Moro and Reuters.

Canada has an opportunity to significantly increase its market share in Europe, with analysis suggesting there could be demand for nearly $60 billion in additional goods exports to the European Union (EU), according to a TD Bank report.

The report, published Wednesday, noted that Canada currently accounts for just one per cent of the goods and services imported by the EU, as regulatory barriers, geography and other factors have kept the two partners from meaningfully expanding their trading relationship.

“These barriers notwithstanding, Canada is well positioned to increase its market share in the EU,” the report said, adding that this week’s summit presents an opportunity to “advance cooperation in priority sectors.”

The report said that under certain conditions, Canadian energy exports to the EU could increase by roughly $50 billion from current levels, and that there are additional opportunities in other sectors including defence and critical minerals.

“European demand increasingly overlaps with Canadian capabilities and the two sides’ strategic interest in diversifying economic ties,” the report said.

“The upside for Canadian exports is meaningful.” 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the two-day summit a distraction and a “grand theatrical meeting.”

“For the next two days, we will be distracted again from the cost-of-living crisis with wall-to-wall media coverage on yet another grand theatrical meeting to sign a bunch of meaningless declarations filled with big words (catalyze, anyone?) and promises to meet again to talk more. No one’s mortgage or grocery bill will come down,” he wrote on X.

He said Carney should instead focus on getting all EU members to sign on to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada’s existing deal with the bloc.

To date, 10 of the 27 EU member states have not ratified CETA. 

Von der Leyen used both phrases -- "associate member" and "alliance for the future" -- in a social media post Wednesday night.

"Rarely have I looked forward to a summit this much. An ocean separates Europe and Canada. Yet we have never felt closer," she wrote.

"We have a new ambition: bringing Canada closer to us than ever before, as Associate Member of the EU. And we want to take our unique partnership even further. With an Alliance for the Future, we will stand together and respond to a world of growing rivalries. Montreal, we're about to write a new chapter in our shared history." 

Bob Rae, former ambassador to the bloc, said Canada’s partnership pursuit is not about replacing its existing ties with Washington.

“This is all in addition to the substantial relationship we have with the U.S.,” he told CTV Your Morning. “When we look at our trading relationships, we need to expand them around the world.”

Asked about Europe’s tightening import rules on carbon emissions, and the associated costs they could incur on Canadian suppliers, Rae said “Canada would be wise” to embrace them.

“They think that the journey to sustainability is one that they are still supporting,” he said, adding “The outliers are our friends in the United States” and that the global economy is growing greener.

In an interview with CTV Power Play on Tuesday, German Ambassador to Canada Matthias Luttenberg said his country has long supported Canada deepening ties with Europe, but there are worries about what to call the arrangement.

“If you come up with a new concept in the European Union, and you propose something, be it the Commission or somebody else, then of course it takes some time to reflect for all 27 member states,” Luttenberg told guest host Graham Richardson.

“I think we have been a little surprised by the announcement, which doesn’t mean that we cannot agree on it,” Luttenberg also said, adding Germany has other concerns because it uses the term “associated membership” in reference to the bloc’s relationship with countries like Ukraine, for example.

Carney, meanwhile, has cautioned against putting too much emphasis on the nomenclature. Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, he said: “What matters is the difference that it will make to lives of Canadians.”

European officials say the exact details of an agreement will not be finalized this week, but that they’re hoping to hammer out those details of Canada’s new relationship in the 27-member bloc for an official announcement next year.

The officials made the comments in a background briefing to reporters ahead of the summit, set to take place Thursday and Friday, also calling it one of the most important summits the EU has ever held.

The officials said the goal is to have the concept ready for endorsement by the next Canada-EU summit next year.