Mark Carney says Canada welcomes EU offer of associate membership despite Trump warning - Toronto Star

The prime minister said his objective for “a deeper partnership” with Europe is “collective resilience.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech during a formal sitting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Sept 17, 2026. 

STRASBOURG, France— Canada is ready to enter a more formal partnership, including associate membership, with the European Union to strengthen sovereignty and resist global pressures, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday as the U.S. president threatened to punish such a move.

Speaking to a half-full European Parliament chamber that belatedly filled up, Carney brushed aside Donald Trump’s late-night warning that any move by the EU to accept Canada as its first associate member would be a “hostile act” that could warrant steep tariffs on Europe, if not outright trade bans.

Instead, Carney took up the call by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a day earlier and said he is open to her invitation to move beyond the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement on free trade to establishing what both called an “alliance for the future.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 17, 2026. 

Von der Leyen, in her state of the union address to Parliament on Wednesday, urged Canada to work toward becoming the first associate member of the EU despite the fact that associate membership is not set out in the 27-country bloc’s framework.

“We welcome this ambition,” Carney said in his Thursday speech after being greeted for the second day on the parliament’s red carpet and posing for selfies with European politicians.

In a later news conference, Carney said Canada is not interested in full EU membership, and “what’s on offer” is a “different framework.” He shrugged off labels, noting von der Leyen had used both terms: alliance and associate membership, adding that the question of what to call it is up to European lawmakers. But the prime minister said he, von der Leyen and several European leaders he informally consulted had embraced the need for a deeper partnership.

“What matters is the substance. What are we actually building together? How do we combine our strengths in a way that serve our people better, protect our fundamental rights, and create prosperity?” Carney said.

The speech signalled that Canada was ready to enter a stronger relationship with the European Union, including associate membership.