Carney eyes 'unique alliance' with EU as trade war with US intensifies
While Carney has ruled out EU membership, the Canadian leader says he wants to pursue a "unique alliance" with Brussels.
Carney seeks 'unique alliance' with EU as trade war with US escalates
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was not pursuing EU membership, but instead a "unique alliance"
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada is looking for a "unique alliance" with the European Union (EU), but not membership of the bloc, as its trade war with the US intensifies.
"What we are looking - and will begin discussions for - [is] a unique alliance with the European Union," Carney told reporters in Toronto on Sunday.
Carney is set to travel this week to the UK and France, where he is scheduled to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
His remarks follow a Wall Street Journal report that EU officials were receptive to a proposal from Carney that Canada could become an "associate member" of the bloc, according to officials from both sides.
Carney told his special envoy to Europe to "scope out the most ambitious possibilities short of full membership", the paper reported.
Speaking to reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival, Carney said Canada was not seeking formal membership, adding: "We share the same values. We have the same priorities, and we have very complementary strengths."
He went on: "We're stronger together. And this is at a time when the world's more dangerous and divided, and friends need to stick together at these times."
In recent weeks, Canada and the US have been locked in an escalating trade war, after trade talks between the two countries collapsed in late August.
The US has imposed tariffs on major Canadian sectors including steel, aluminium and lumber, as well as an extra 50% levy on about C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) of Canadian goods.
In retaliation, Ottawa imposed levies of up to 50% on C$28bn ($20bn; £15bn) of American products, ranging from steel to furniture to cotton T-shirts.
While in Europe, Carney will attend European Commission Ursula von der Leyen's State of the European Union address. The Canadian leader will also travel to Liverpool to meet with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Since taking office, Carney has pushed a strategy focused on building a "more independent, more resilient economy", following increasingly hostile policy toward his country from the Trump administration.
Trump has spoken about turning Canada into a "51st state" of the US, and recently ordered the US government to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America".
In January, Carney called on middle powers to unite during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying that the "old order is not coming back".