Do Canadians really want closer ties with Europe?
International headlines have been made this week by the EU and Canada announcing their mutual intention to form a deeper relationship. Mandy Pipher, The Local’s resident Canadian, examines whether her compatriots would actually accept tighter ties with Europe.
There has been a lot of fanfare (or, if if you’re in the US, some minor uproar) this past week over Canada and the European Union flirting, very publicly, with one another.
On Wednesday September 16th, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her 2026 ‘State of the Union’ address to European Parliament, spoke glowingly of Canada before offering to make the North American country “the first associate member of the European Union.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – to whom von der Leyen referred as “dear Mark” – was in the front row during this speech, and after the “associate member” remark, rose, amid applause from the chamber, to meet the EU President mid-way between the seats and the podium to faire la bise.
The next day, Carney himself made a speech to the EU Parliament – a speech in which he warmly accepted the proffered “associate member” title, made extensive reference to Canada’s on-the-ground role in both European World Wars, and outlined a variety of ways that Canada and Europe could (and in his view, should) form more substantial bonds.
It was no secret, however diplomatically oblique both Carney and von der Leyen were in their speeches, that this newfound coziness had everything to do with the recent antagonizing of both Canada and Europe by another, formerly closer, very powerful ally.
Even without Donald Trump stirring up trouble for both, it seems quite likely that Europe would welcome closer economic and security cooperation with Canada; Carney’s point about Canada’s rich endowment of critical minerals, for example, would not have been taken lightly by EU leaders.
But what about Canada? To what extent was this a performance intended to make it’s badly-behaved neighbour and long-term trading partner jealous?
While the warm overtures to Europe in Carney’s September 17th speech – not to mention his positioning of Canada in a global democratic leadership role historically held by the United States – were certainly intended to show the US that Canada means business when it says it won’t bow to American trade pressure, I do think Carney is genuine in his desire to develop meaningfully stronger ties to the EU.
And I think Canadians will, by and large, support such a move – for two key reasons.
The first is for similar reasons as Europe: basic economic self-interest. Canada’s economy is currently over-enmeshed with that of the United States; even if the Trumpian forces currently holding sway in the US fade fairly soon, for Canada there is no going back from its recent rude awakening.
Putting nearly all its economic and security eggs in one basket was, frankly, never a smart move (although, given geography, it was an understandable one), and now that Canada has woken up to that fact, I don’t think it’s ever going back.
The second reason is that, if I may be permitted to speak for Canadians in general, we, like anyone else, enjoy having a modicum of self-respect. Having arguably the most to lose from standing up to the current American bully, we are also the first to meaningfully do so, and a fair amount of pride is being taken ‘back home’ in how we are standing our ground.
Poll after poll shows that Carney’s decision to play hardball with Trump has overwhelming support among Canadians, even though no one is confused about the very real potential for challenging consequences.
Polls also show that a strong majority of Canadians support Canada forming closer ties to the EU.
That means, among other things, that Carney’s more specific and concrete proposals like Canada joining Erasums+, the Europe-wide program allowing young people to study, train, and work across borders, might very well become a reality.
If it does, can Europe expect to see noticeable influxes of Canadian youth flowing into the EU to take advantage of the program?
Absolut, as they say here in Sweden. Canadian young people tend to be, generally speaking, an internationally minded group; most either have immigrant backgrounds themselves or in their family, or have close friends with such backgrounds. The prospect for broadening horizons and gaining different work experience in Europe, particularly in an economically challenging time for their generation, will likely be very appealing.
So get ready to start assuming that that bright-eyed “American” student you encounter behind a coffee shop counter or at your local university is, in fact, Canadian.
