The European Union has offered Canada an unprecedented form of associate membership, a first-of-its-kind status that would give Ottawa a regular seat at the EU’s table without formally joining the bloc. The offer from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be fleshed out at a Montreal summit on October 29-30, according to a draft joint statement seen by Euronews.
Brussels and Ottawa are determined to turn shared values and an increasingly close relationship into what the draft calls an “Alliance for the Future” — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s preferred label for the arrangement. The proposal would give Canada participation in EU summits, ministerial meetings and technical discussions, plus early consultations on major policy initiatives as an associate member, the draft reads.
Trade, Energy and Defence at the Core
The draft builds on the 2016 Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which around 10 EU countries have yet to ratify, aiming to remove remaining trade barriers and ensure reciprocal market access. On energy, the conclusions open the door to “the development of liquefied natural gas exchanges,” including a joint long-term feasibility study on LNG exports to Europe.
On technology, Canada would join the EU’s supercomputer initiative, with a new digital partnership and a cross-border data-flows agreement in the making. Critical raw materials are also central: the two sides agreed the European Investment Bank will back critical mineral projects from extraction to recycling. In defence, Canada — already part of the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation and its Capability Coalition — would deepen cooperation on maritime security, crisis management and industrial cooperation.
Trump Calls the Idea “Laughable”
The push reflects Canada’s drive to diversify away from the United States, which takes nearly 70 percent of Canadian exports. The EU is Canada’s second-largest goods-trade partner, with roughly 130 billion euros in annual trade, according to The Practical World. US President Donald Trump called the associate membership idea “laughable,” while an Abacus Data poll found 81 percent of Canadians support closer EU integration.
Canada is already wired into Europe in ways unimaginable a few years ago. In June, it became the first non-European country included in the EU’s 150-billion-euro SAFE defence instrument. Regulatory alignment on cars and medicines, digital trade talks and Horizon Europe research cooperation are all moving ahead.
Britain Watches From the Sidelines
The experiment is being watched closely in London, where Prime Minister Andy Burnham is seeking to rebuild Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the bloc. The contrast is striking: Ottawa gets an undefined but potentially far-reaching new status while London negotiates sector by sector, with the next EU-UK summit postponed following Keir Starmer’s resignation.
“It is hardly surprising that Brexit has not delivered on that promise,” Charles Tannock, a former Conservative MEP who campaigned for Remain, told Euronews. Brussels offered Canada SAFE entry for about 10 million euros upfront, while asking the UK for 6.5 billion euros with no guarantee its industry would win contracts. Whether Britain gets a similar offer is an open question.
