Canada-EU
Carney pitches "deepest possible" Canada-EU partnership in European Parliament address
Strasbourg, France: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed a far deeper, more integrated partnership between Ottawa and the European Union during an address to the European Parliament on Thursday.
The address comes amid Carney's part of a two-day visit to France that followed a stop in Liverpool to meet British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Carney attended European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union address and met separately with von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and other lawmakers during the Strasbourg visit, which ran from September 16 to 17.
In his address, Carney said Canada and the EU could deepen cooperation in critical minerals, defence industries, energy, and artificial intelligence and computing to reinforce what he described as both sides' "strategic autonomy".
He said closer people-to-people ties would let young people live, work and study across the Atlantic more freely, and that a more integrated market for financial services would broaden choice and reduce costs for citizens on both sides.
"Canada's new government proposes the deepest possible partnership between Canada and the EU," Carney said in a statement accompanying the visit.
"This will require a new form of partnership, a unique alliance anchored in our common values that respects our complementary strengths and systems and enhances our sovereignty and prosperity."
The prime minister's office said the EU brings market power, research depth and manufacturing strength to the relationship, while Canada offers energy resources, critical minerals and capabilities in space, AI and quantum technology, along with one of the world's strongest banking systems.
A day earlier, in Liverpool, Carney met Burnham for the first time as prime ministers of their respective countries. The two discussed expanding cooperation in trade, technology and defence.
Carney announced that Canada has formally applied to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, which aims to strengthen military interoperability between the two countries, and said Burnham welcomed the move.
The leaders also discussed defence-industrial cooperation through the Global Combat Air Programme, which Canada joined as an observer in July, and agreed to advance cooperation on the safe development of artificial intelligence.
The visit builds on more than a year of expanding Canada-EU ties. In June 2025, the two sides launched the New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future and a Security and Defence Partnership at a summit in Brussels.
In February 2026, Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence-procurement initiative.
In May, Carney became the first non-European leader to attend the European Political Community Summit, held in Armenia.
In June, Montreal-based Marconi Technologies secured the first Canadian procurement contract under SAFE, agreeing to build tactical radios for Poland's Cyber Command.
According to figures released by the Prime Minister's Office, the EU is Canada's second-largest global trading partner, with roughly $178 billion in goods and services traded in 2025.
The UK is Canada's largest European trading partner, with trade having grown by a third since 2024 to reach $85 billion annually.
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