Canada and Europe 'stronger together,' Carney says amid spat with US

Carney urged work to deepen ties "deliberately, systematically and rapidly."

LONDON -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday called for deeper transatlantic ties with the European Union amid an ongoing diplomatic and trade spat with President Donald Trump's administration.

During an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Carney told lawmakers, "Canada and Europe are each strong. Canada and Europe are stronger together."

"Where our strengths differ, they complement. Where they overlap, they create scale. We should build on each other's strengths -- deliberately, systematically and rapidly," Carney added.

Carney called for Canada and Europe to work together on securing "strategic autonomy" in areas including critical minerals, defense-industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security and space.

The prime minister also called for a move towards "seamless, digital trade in non-agricultural goods and a wide range of services," plus deeper "people-to-people ties" allowing young people to "work, study and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic."

"I'm not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival -- only with better manners," Carney said, to some laughter in the chamber. The prime minister did not explicitly mention the U.S. or Trump during his address.

"We do not seek power to dominate others," he added. "On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so no one -- no one -- can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law."

Carney's visit to Europe this week came as the European Union offered to make Canada the bloc's first-ever "associate member."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Strasbourg on Wednesday, "We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible. We must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU."