Canada's EU associate membership proposal
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to embrace European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada the EU's first 'associate member', a status that doesn't yet exist in EU treaties and would need to be created and approved by member states. Carney framed the move as building 'resilience' rather than a rival bloc, pitching deeper cooperation on critical minerals, defence industry, AI, energy, space and 'seamless digital trade', and said any deal would go to a vote in Canada's Parliament. He received a standing ovation and an embrace from von der Leyen, who wants an 'Alliance for the Future' with Canada beyond their existing trade pact; the two sides will discuss details at an October 29-30 summit in Montreal.
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