Canadians can now see the plan for Mark Carney’s ‘moonshot’ European alliance - Toronto Star

We will not have forgotten about the border to the south that has so long defined our nation, but the political and economic shocks that emanate from America will start to feel less urgent and existential.

Prime Minister Mark Carney participates in a joint news conference with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, not shown, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026.

Imagine a back-to-school September of the future — one in which Canada is an official associate member of the European Union.

Parents aren’t driving their university students back to campus, but to the airport. The kids are catching flights to the Netherlands or Spain or France for a year of study under Europe’s Erasmus Plus exchange program.

At those institutes of higher learning, scientists and researchers are collaborating with their Canadian counterparts on technologies to benefit people and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic with Horizon Europe research funding.

Those businesses employ Canadian skilled workers and expats who apply their trade abroad without the need for special European credentials or pesky work visas.

In very real and concrete ways, the Canadian gaze starts to shift east, across the Atlantic Ocean, to the distant shores of the Old World.

We will not have forgotten about the border to the south that has so long defined our nation, but the political and economic shocks that emanate from America will start to feel less urgent and existential.

That, at least, is the plan spelled out in speeches this week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the European Parliament.