Canada on the Brink of European Membership!

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed today, Wednesday, that Canada become the EU's "first partner member," during a speech she delivered before the European Parliament in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

von der Leyen stated that "partnerships are a strategic choice and respond to the fragmentation of the international system," emphasizing that the EU will transition from a trade agreement with Canada to a "coalition for the future".

Addressing Carney, who was invited to Strasbourg to attend her annual State of the Union address, she added: "We want to elevate relations with Canada to the highest possible level (...) and therefore I would like to work with you to explore the possibility of Canada becoming the EU's first partner member."

Canada would be the first test case for this model, which could later be adapted for other countries such as the UK, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and others deemed reliable partners by Brussels.

Carney said he aims to minimize the practical gap between a "member state" and a "partner state" by gradually integrating Canada into parts of the European economic, security, and technological systems, without going through full membership procedures.

The rapprochement did not begin with Carney’s upcoming visit to Strasbourg, but it accelerated following Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the transformation of the U.S.-Canadian relationship from a source of stability into one of economic and political pressure.

U.S. tariffs, Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada the "51st state," and tensions over meetings between American officials and oil-rich Alberta separatists have brought the issue of dependence on the United States to the heart of the Canadian debate on sovereignty, according to a report by Mondial.

Carney summarized the scale of change before parliament, stating: "The world has changed, Washington has changed—there is almost nothing normal about the United States anymore," and at Davos, he spoke of a "fracture" in the global order, arguing that the old system will not return and that middle powers need to build new networks to reduce exposure to economic and political coercion.

However, Carney’s strategy does not involve shifting Canada’s economy from the United States to Europe—a political decision impossible in the near term. In July, nearly 70% of Canadian exports went to the United States, compared to only 5% to the EU, and the Canadian and American economies remain deeply intertwined through decades-old supply chains, energy, industrial, and transportation networks.