Updated September 17, 2026 at 9:50 AM CDT
PARIS — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday to make a pointed case for closer ties between Canada and Europe, just hours after President Trump warned Europe against moving ahead with a proposed new partnership with Ottawa.
"Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together," Carney told the European Union's lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.
Speaking in English, French and some German, Carney highlighted shared values including democracy, individual freedom and the rule of law. He also quoted German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The moment comes as Canada and the 27-member EU look to strengthen their partnership amid increasingly difficult relations with Washington under President Trump. Both Canada and the EU have felt bullied by the Trump administration with tariffs on trade, warnings the U.S. could abandon NATO and threats to take over Greenland. In the process, America's two historical allies have been pushed closer together.
A day earlier, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen offered to make Canada the EU's first associate member. "Canada welcomes this ambition," Carney said Thursday.
"We are not fair-weather allies. We do not pursue zero-sum deals," Carney said. "Our commitment to the rule of law and our unyielding defense of human dignity, individual freedom and democracy share the same deep roots, the same unwavering dedication."
Carney pledged to "define together" the relationship. He proposed cooperation on a range of issues spanning critical minerals, defense industrial capacity to artificial intelligence and energy security.
"I'm not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival only with better manners. We do not seek power to dominate others," he said. "On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law."
The EU's Von der Leyen, during her State of the Union address on Wednesday, stressed that the proposed associate membership for Canada was not "against anyone." But the fact that she sought to emphasize that made the context even more obvious.
Trump reacted sharply to the proposal on Wednesday night. Speaking to reporters after a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump called the idea "laughable," and said his response would depend on whether he viewed the move as having a "bad intention."
"If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things," Trump said.
Asked about Trump's response after his speech, Carney reiterated that the proposed Canada-EU partnership was not about creating a new bloc or taking a position against the United States.
"This alliance is a positive process. That's my response to the American president," Carney told reporters.
"A stronger, more resilient Canada would be a more effective partner for the United States," Carney added. "No one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally."
While the details of a new partnership need to be ironed out, many European officials welcomed the comments by the leaders of Canada and the European Commission.
"Democracy is under attack, the geopolitical order is ruined, so we have to team up," said Nathalie Loiseau, a French member of the European Parliament. "We have a message, we have common interests, we have common values and we have to work closer."
For many Europeans, the response from Washington will underscore the appeal of the message Carney has been making about closer cooperation among U.S. partners he calls "middle powers." At the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned that "recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited."
Carney has made clear that Canada does not want to fully integrate with the EU's single market. Canada and the EU already have a free-trade agreement, although Carney is expected to press the 10 EU countries that have not yet ratified it.
The two sides have also been expanding cooperation in security and defense. They signed an agreement deepening security cooperation in 2025, and Canada, this year, became the only non-European country allowed to participate in the EU's 150-billion-euro fund for joint defense purchases.
Teri Schultz contributed reporting from Brussels.
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