Carney rejects EU membership, seeks 'unique alliance' instead

WSJ: arrangement would reorient Canadian trade away from US

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that Canada is not seeking membership in the European Union, responding to a Wall Street Journal report that Ottawa and Brussels were exploring an unprecedented “associate member” arrangement.

Carney, speaking to reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival, said Canada was instead looking to establish a “unique alliance” with the EU.

“We’re not looking to become a member of the European Union. What we are looking for and will begin discussion for, is a unique alliance with the European Union, between Canada and the European Union,” Carney said.

“We share the same values. We have the same priorities and we have very complementary strengths,” Carney added. “We’re stronger together. And this is a time when the world’s more dangerous and divided, and friends need to stick together at these times.”

The Journal, which published its story before Carney’s remarks, described Canada and Brussels as “sorting out” what an “associate” membership would look like, citing unnamed officials from both governments. The newspaper framed the arrangement as “unprecedented.”

According to the Journal, the United States currently consumes about 72% of Canadian exports, and the proposed arrangement would aim at a historic reorientation of Canadian trade away from the US. A potential deal, the Journal reported, could see fertilizer exported to Europe via the Arctic and the construction of new natural gas pipelines that could ease European dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The European Commission did not respond to the Journal’s story. An unnamed Canadian government source told the Canadian broadcaster CTV that Canada is not pursuing EU membership in any capacity and that the WSJ report “overstates” what is happening. The source said Ottawa is instead seeking to build on strides made at a joint Canada-EU summit in June, where the two sides established a strategic partnership in key areas and agreed to cooperate in the ReArm Europe defense project.

The Journal reported Carney’s upcoming European Parliament address is expected to take place as Trump “is engaged in trade wars with the United States’ closest allies, including Canada,” and has “questioned his northern neighbor’s sovereignty by suggesting it become the ‘51st state.’” Carney is scheduled to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday.