Carney frames EU partnership as sovereignty strategy, not membership bid
UNITED NATIONS — A mutually beneficial trade pact between Canada and the United States remains possible, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, but his country will not give up its freedom to strike deals with the European Union and other parts of the world as it seeks to diversify global connections and protect its national sovereignty.
Trade talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed in August, with Trump imposing steep tariffs and Canada retaliating with levies of its own. In the interview, Carney indicated that some progress had been achieved since then, but not enough to clinch a deal.
“There were a series of issues late in the negotiations that were red lines for us, that we couldn’t cross and didn’t cross. Some of those have been taken off the table,” Carney said. “But one of the core principles here…is we’re not going to compromise our sovereignty. Our ability to pursue trade deals with other jurisdictions is very important to us.”
Carney has worked to steer Canada toward a deeper, more formal alliance with the EU as he contends with pressure from Trump. In addition to sparking a trade war with America’s northern neighbor, Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as “the 51st state.”
Canada would not seek full EU membership, Carney said. But working with Europe on matters such as critical minerals, energy supplies and low-orbit satellite capabilities would strengthen sovereignty for both sides, he said, because no nation can be truly sovereign without access to core strategic capabilities.
Carney said there was room for deeper cooperation on matters that ranged from scientific programs to seamless digital payments to joining Europe’s Erasmus+ student exchanges.
“Countries are recognizing that integration is weaponized,” Carney said. “It can be trade. It can be supply chains, the various financial payment systems. To be sovereign, I have to diversify, and therefore I need partners.”
The “multilateral system” is “not fit for purpose,” Carney said, “and therefore, if I really care about an issue, I’ve got to find other countries that care about it. Combined, success will breed success.”
Canada, alongside Ukraine, is already part of the EU’s SAFE initiative, which funds the development of military industries and technologies. It is also a partner of Baltic and Nordic nations in protecting the northern flank of the NATO alliance that runs through the Arctic. Relationships that Canada is developing worldwide “make us stronger, and make us a better partner for the United States,” Carney said.
Asked about his relationship with Trump, Carney was diplomatic. “We focus on where we can do things that are in our mutual interest, quite often that is in security,” he said. “I listen to everything the president says. Certain elements may not stand the test of time.”
In a time of geopolitical flux, Carney said, “it’s a question of maturity of understanding what is required to be sovereign in an interconnected world. You can be autarkic and sovereign and very poor. And you can be interconnected and sovereign if you’re deliberate about it. That’s been the lesson of the last few years.”