Carney welcomes EU's 'associate member' plan, while Trump lashes out - National Post

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney looks on during the annual keynote address of the European Commission's President at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France on September 16, 2026. Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentSTRASBOURG, FRANCE — Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the European Unions’ invitation to become its first ever “associate member,” and pitched it as deepening ties between two allies who face threats of retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Thursday morning, Carney delivered a speech to hundreds of members of European Parliament (MEP) members as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

The prime minister confirmed Canada’s interest in becoming the first ever “associate member” of the union, an invitation extended the previous day by von der Leyen.

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While what that means remains to be seen, Carney used his speech to pitch Canada as a natural ally for the block of 27 European countries in the face of international upheaval — a “tremendous storm,” in his words — and the creation of the next world order.

He sold Canada as a reliable partner in the face of increasing trade violence and volatility by U.S. President Donald Trump. To hundreds of European lawmakers, he proposed Canadian energy and critical minerals in exchange for knocking down trade and travel barriers as well as deeper integration on tech, defence and artificial intelligence.

The speech came on the heels of new tit-for-tat tariffs between Canada and the U.S. after trade negotiations between both countries once again failed to deliver a new deal.

On Thursday, the prime minister set out to make it clear to Trump that the budding partnership with the E.U. was not intended as a hostile effort to supplant the U.S., a fear expressed by the American president Wednesday evening that came with a threat of significant trade retaliation.

“I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival, only with better manners,” Carney said. Dozens of EU parliamentarians laughed and clapped in response.