Canada seeks closer EU ties to ease reliance on US

MONTREAL

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney will be the first head of government to attend the State of European Union address, to be delivered next week by by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (AFP Photo)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking closer trade and security ties with the European Union to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States as President Donald Trump’s trade war strains relations.

Carney is due to attend the State of the European Union address in Strasbourg on Sept. 16 and speak to the European Parliament the following day. His trip also includes a first meeting with Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, in Liverpool.

Canada has already joined the EU’s defense procurement program and will host a summit with the bloc in Montreal in October to discuss a deeper economic and security partnership.

Ottawa and Brussels are also negotiating a digital trade agreement to build on their existing free trade pact.

Javier Moreno Sánchez, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Canada, said small and medium-sized businesses were still not making full use of the existing deal.

The closer relationship has renewed speculation about Canadian EU membership. Carney, who has described Canada as “the most European of the non-European countries,” declined to endorse or rule out the idea.

Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union limits membership applications to European states.

Moreno Sánchez pointed to Iceland and Switzerland as examples of countries maintaining close ties with the EU without joining the bloc.

Transport costs also complicate efforts to expand trade across the Atlantic.

The U.S. still accounted for roughly two-thirds of Canada’s goods exports in July.