Canada, EU look to forge an "Alliance for the Future" amid Trump threats

Strasbourg, France — Canada and its Prime Minister Mark Carney have drawn regular scorn from President Trump as the two nations remain locked in an escalating trade war , but European leaders gave the visiting Canadian premier a standing ovation on Thursday.

Carney embraced the prospect of his country becoming the European Union's first associate member, shrugging off a threat by Mr. Trump and saying closer ties with the EU would ensure no country could control Canada's markets or undermine its sovereignty.

In a speech to the European Parliament, Carney repeatedly extolled cooperation between Europe and Canada — but the now-souring relationship with the U.S., which has defined Canada's economy for decades, hung over the Thursday address.

Mr. Trump's tariffs, demands for economic concessions, and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to reduce its dependence on its neighbor and seek a far deeper economic, security and political relationship with Europe.

Carney told the parliament that he welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's partnership proposal, unveiled Wednesday, though he acknowledged that "associate membership" remains to be defined.

But the Canadian leader outlined his own vision: deeper integration across trade, defense, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, space, research and financial services to make both sides less vulnerable to economic and geopolitical pressure. He later told reporters he was not pursuing full membership of the EU.

"We do not seek power to dominate others," he said. "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."

Carney got a warm welcome when he walked into the chamber in Strasbourg, France — with many lawmakers coming up to shake his hand and pose for selfies. His address got a standing ovation.

Speaking Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, after von der Leyen floated the idea of welcoming Canada as an associate EU member, Mr. Trump threatened to respond by imposing more tariffs on the European bloc, possibly even cutting off trade completely in certain areas.

Mr. Trump conditioned his latest threat on the "intention" of European leaders, saying: "If it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe."

He didn't say how he would discern the intentions of any eventual move by the EU to grant Canada a new, special status with the bloc, but he mocked the prospect as "laughable" and called America's neighbor to the north a "terrible trade partner."

Carney's address appeared to show his determination to push forward in shaping a new "world order," without shedding any tears over what he said in January was the death of the old one.

For generations, Canada built its economy around integration with the United States.