Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney tried to soothe U.S. fears over his overtures toward the European Union, pledging that a planned new partnership wouldn’t be detrimental to the United States.
Carney outlined his vision for the planned first-of-its-kind alliance with the EU in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday, a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced the concept in her own speech. The obvious subtext to the push is a mutual desire to counter U.S. influence, after the pair’s respective relationships with the U.S. have soured under President Donald Trump. Carney focused on tempering U.S. resistance to the move, arguing that it would ultimately benefit the U.S. as well.
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EU WANTS CANADA TO BE ITS FIRST ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Carney said he was, “not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival — only with better manners.”
“We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law,” he added.
The new partnership would instead make Canada “a better partner for the U.S.”
Despite this, Carney made numerous veiled swipes at Trump, though never mentioning him by name.
“We are looking for partnerships that are complementary, that reinforce our sovereignty,” he said. “And that’s what is on offer here. Nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally.”
Carney previously said that the red line that led to a breakdown in trade negotiations with the U.S., which are currently at a standstill, was the U.S. violating Canada’s French language provisions. The underlying tension with the U.S. was illustrated when Carney first took the podium, when an unidentified person in the crowd began a “U.S.A.” chant, drawing a laugh from Carney and boos from the rest of the crowd.
Carney’s attempts to soothe U.S. fears came after Trump made his first comments on the planned “associate membership,” in which he expressed his disapproval.
“I think it’s laughable, the whole thing with Canada. Canada has been a terrible trade partner,” Trump said, when asked about the planned alliance.
“If they do that, if I think at all it’s a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs, or stop trading with Europe, on many things,” he continued. “So, if Europe does that, with a bad intention — if they do it with a good intention, that’s fine.”
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Von der Leyen’s speech announcing her intention to welcome Canada as the first associate member of the EU reportedly took most of the bloc by surprise, leaving officials scrambling to figure out what the deal would actually entail. This confusion was reflected in remarks by EU Ambassador to the U.S. Jovita Neliupsiene, who spoke to reporters on Wednesday and stressed that the actual details were still up in the air.
“To see Canada as a potential associated member is still to be discussed, that’s what the commission president said,” she said. “It’s open doors and open ideas” with Canada.
Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.
