Mark Carney: Canada has “realized its excessive dependence” on the US and is seeking associated membership in the EU

Acknowledging dependence and a course toward diversification

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney gave an interview to Deutsche Welle on Friday, after talks in Montreal with the leadership of the European Union devoted to the details of a new, closer partnership between Canada and the EU. Against the backdrop of difficult trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump, Carney said that Canadians have generally come to realize the country's excessive dependence on its southern neighbor: “The lesson we have learned is that we are overly dependent on the United States. Too closely tied to the United States. And we need to build strength here at home, diversify and deepen partnerships with like-minded countries internationally.”

“Associated membership” and disagreements within the EU

In Montreal, the Canadian side was met by an EU delegation led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. Under discussion is the status of “associated membership” proposed by von der Leyen — a formulation that does not yet exist for any other country, while the government of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz resists creating such a label. Carney spoke in favor of it, noting that both von der Leyen and Canada use the term. According to him, it means “the closest possible partnership without full EU membership, since Canada is not geographically located in Europe and therefore cannot join.”

The substance of the partnership and relations with Washington

Asked whether a “new transatlantic bloc without the US” is being created, Carney stressed that the point is rather diversifying partnerships, not excluding Canada's largest trading partner. He called the CETA agreement “one of the most successful free trade agreements in the world,” mentioned the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programs, and named space technology, artificial intelligence and critical minerals as areas for expanding cooperation. On tensions with Trump — from attempts to rename Lake Ontario to posted AI videos of a brawl — Carney said that the ties between Canadians and Americans are too strong to be destroyed by governments or presidents, and that the best way to deal with Trump is “to be direct, to be clear” about one's red lines. He acknowledged that “the scale of the relationship with the United States” would be “very difficult to replace,” and noted that Canada considers all the justifications for US trade actions against it unfair under the trade agreement. The key message for the White House, he said, is that the talks with Brussels are a “positive association,” “not against anyone, but for.”