European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday that she wants to open the door for Canada to become an "associate member" of the European Union, a designation that does not formally exist, according to CBC News. Speaking to the same chamber on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he "welcomes this ambition" and called for an "alliance of the future" between Canada and the EU's 27 member countries, CBC and the BBC reported. NBC News reported that the remarks drew a near-unanimous standing ovation from lawmakers representing the bloc's 27 member countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has called the prospect of closer EU-Canada ties "laughable" and threatened "very heavy tariffs" on the EU depending on his assessment of the arrangement, according to the sources.
EU proposes 'associate member' status for Canada as Carney addresses European Parliament
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday that she wants to open the door for Canada to become an "associate member" of the European Union, a designation that does not formally exist, according to CBC News. Speaking to the same chamber on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he "welcomes this ambition" and called for an "alliance of the future" between Canada and the EU's 27 member countries, CBC and the BBC reported. NBC News reported that the remarks drew a near-unanimous standing ovation from lawmakers representing the bloc's 27 member countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has called the prospect of closer EU-Canada ties "laughable" and threatened "very heavy tariffs" on the EU depending on his assessment of the arrangement, according to the sources.
Von der Leyen also outlined an "alliance for the future" that would increase cooperation on defence, energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and other technologies, saying "this is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength," according to NBC News. CBC News reported that the "associate member" label does not exist formally in EU law, and that Politico reported European Parliament sources saying the proposal caught EU members off guard.
In his Thursday remarks, Carney said the aim was "an alliance strong enough so that no one can dictate our choices," and that "we do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience. So no one — no one — can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law," NBC News reported. NBC noted the remarks appeared aimed in part at Trump, though Carney did not name him.
At a news conference on Thursday, Carney said Canada was "not in a position, nor seeking, to become a full member" of the EU, describing full membership as a long process of regulatory alignment that can take decades, and said of the associate membership proposal that "what matters is the substance," NBC News reported.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that "if it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe," according to NBC News. CBC News reported Trump called the prospect of an EU-Canada alliance "laughable" and threatened "heavy tariffs" on the EU if he perceived the deal as "hostile."
The two sides have been building economic and defence links over several years. NBC News reported the EU is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States, that a 2017 free trade agreement eliminated most tariffs between them although some barriers remain, that they signed a defence partnership in June 2025, that Canada joined the EU's military procurement programme this February, and that negotiations on a digital trade agreement followed in March. CBC News referred to the existing trade agreement as CETA.
Caution was voiced alongside enthusiasm. Canada's incoming ambassador to Brussels, Jonathan Wilkinson, told reporters in Strasbourg when asked about associate membership that "we're not there" and that "what we're focused on is actually driving results." German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the idea was good but that "we should reconsider the terminology — the label — associated with it," according to NBC News.
Other reactions reported by NBC News included Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posting an image of the EU flag appended with a Canadian maple leaf, and British political commentator Alastair Campbell, a former communications chief to ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, writing that "a new world order really is being shaped and it is not how Trump's USA imagined" and "it used to be taken as read that the US President led the free world. No more."
René Repasi, a German member of the European Parliament, told CBC's As It Happens he was "very glad" Carney endorsed the ambition, described the offer as "quite a daring move" by von der Leyen, and said he was himself surprised because associate membership "formally speaking or legally speaking, it actually doesn't exist." He said closer ties would require negotiating "a very comprehensive new international treaty," that the European Economic Area — which includes Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein — is the arrangement currently closest to associate membership, and that what Carney and von der Leyen envision is "something even more political than that, and that is something new."
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said she was concerned a closer relationship with Europe could "import" a migrant crisis to Canada, and that Conservatives were seeking "a lot of accountability" from Carney on the EU proposal, CBC News reported.
NBC News reported that the plan would require buy-in from all 27 member states, that it is not clear how associate membership might work or what rights and responsibilities Canada might gain, and that opening the door to a perceived lighter form of EU membership weeks after Icelanders voted against seeking to join the bloc could risk dulling hopes of further EU expansion and revive fears of disunity.
Where sources differ
- CBC News emphasises that 'associate member' has no formal legal status in EU law and describes it as another term for extremely close ties, while NBC News describes the specific label as 'an escalation' and notes it is unclear how the status would work; the BBC refers only to discussions about Canada's relationship with the EU and von der Leyen's wish to work on 'opening the door.'
- The sources frame Trump's tariff threat differently: CBC News reports he threatened 'heavy tariffs' if he perceived the deal as 'hostile,' while NBC News quotes him saying 'if it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.'
- None of the sources sets out what rights, responsibilities or market access 'associate membership' would actually confer, or how the status would work in practice.
- No source establishes whether all 27 EU member states support the proposal, or provides the position of the European Council or of individual member-state governments beyond Germany and Spain.
- No source gives a timeline, draft text or negotiating mandate for the comprehensive treaty that CBC's interviewee says would be required.
- No source establishes whether von der Leyen's proposal was coordinated with EU member states in advance; CBC reports only that Politico reported European Parliament sources saying members were caught off guard.
- No source reports a formal White House statement or detailed U.S. position beyond Trump's remarks to reporters, nor any response to Trump from von der Leyen.
- The sources do not establish the date or venue of the events beyond 'Wednesday' and 'Thursday' in Strasbourg, nor whether Carney's remarks were officially directed at the U.S. president; NBC reports they appeared aimed in part at Trump but that Carney did not name him.
- No source reports the position of the Canadian government beyond Carney and Wilkinson, or any formal response from the EU's institutions to the criticism from Canadian Conservatives.
- CBC News — original — by Sheena Goodyear
- NBC News — by Alexander Smith
- BBC News — by @BBCNews