MONTREAL — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the European Union’s top official pushed Thursday to make Canada the bloc’s first “associate member” and build a broader alliance open to other countries as they warned of threats to sovereignty from economic coercion during President Trump’s trade war.
Speaking in Montreal on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Canada and the EU would form the core of the proposed “Alliance for the Future,” but other like-minded countries would be welcome to join.
Echoing Carney’s warning at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, von der Leyen said economic relationships once considered sources of stability were increasingly being used as instruments of pressure.
“When trade becomes a tool of economic pressure, it is families that pay the price, from the supermarket shelf to the cost of a new car,” she said. “We are seeing in real time our sovereignty being attacked.”
Carney said the alliance would help Canada withstand economic shocks and prevent foreign governments and technology companies from dictating its choices.
“Why does sovereignty matter in a dangerous and divided world? It allows us to withstand shocks,” Carney said at a news conference. “It allows us to live our lives as we choose.”
Von der Leyen said the broader alliance would go beyond Canada’s potential associate membership, focusing on critical minerals, resilient supply chains, defense, and security.
“This is a wider concept,” she said at a business roundtable alongside Carney. “Other like-minded trusted partners are welcome.”
Trump has suggested Canada’s proposed EU arrangement could be a “hostile act” and threatened tariffs on Europe if he considered it unfriendly. Asked Wednesday about possible retaliation, a senior Canadian government official told reporters the closer relationship was not directed against the United States but reflected longstanding shared interests.
The White House said Thursday that US trade and commerce officials had held discussions with their Canadian counterparts in recent days. The statement came in response to a question about Canada’s pursuit of closer ties with the EU.
Carney played down the importance of the “associate member” designation, which von der Leyen continues to champion despite resistance from some European governments.
“This new alliance is not a marketing exercise. The name doesn’t matter,” he said.
Carney later used the term “associate member” himself while sitting beside von der Leyen at a business roundtable, emphasizing the economic opportunities closer cooperation could create.
The summit puts Carney’s vision for a new global order to the test. At Davos, he warned that the US-led international order was breaking down and economic integration was increasingly being weaponized. He urged middle powers to unite against coercion by more powerful countries.
Some EU member states have questioned the “associate member” designation proposed last month by von der Leyen, but she showed no sign Thursday of abandoning the idea.
“Canada cannot become a full-fledged member of the EU because of geography, but we both want to bring our relationship to the highest level possible,” she said. “This is why we are discussing the idea of Canada becoming the first associate member of the European Union.”
Von der Leyen described the proposed relationship as an “association without accession,” saying it could bring Canada closer to EU membership than any previous arrangement with a country outside the bloc.
She said the proposed relationship would deepen cooperation on artificial intelligence, energy, defense, and other areas.
Anand Sundar, a special adviser at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said France and Germany are among the countries unhappy with the designation and that it may not survive the summit.
“The fact that member states have rejected the associate membership framing is very embarrassing for von der Leyen,” Sundar said.
Carney has ruled out formally joining the EU and said any enhanced partnership would face a vote in Canada’s Parliament.
The summit is expected to launch an “Alliance for the Future,” a framework for closer cooperation on trade, defense, critical minerals, technology, and research.
Von der Leyen said Canada and the EU would finalize an agreement Friday giving Canadian companies, startups, and researchers access to Europe’s network of 12 supercomputers, strengthening cooperation on artificial intelligence.
Carney announced Thursday that Canada would invest up to $1.1 billion in Canadian artificial intelligence company Cohere, which announced plans in April to merge with Germany’s Aleph Alpha. He said Cohere would remain Canadian and invest at least $1.2 billion in new computing infrastructure in Canada.
Carney said Canada would not wait for the future of artificial intelligence to be decided elsewhere by people it does not know or trust.
Von der Leyen announced plans to strengthen strategic supply chains and encourage joint investment in industries critical to economic security.
Officials hope to develop the broader partnership for possible endorsement in 2027.
Canada is the only non-European country participating in the EU’s $167-billion SAFE defense procurement program, allowing Canadian companies to take part in joint European military purchases.
But deeper defense cooperation faces obstacles. Sundar said France is pushing for strict “Made in Europe” rules that could limit Canadian companies’ access to future EU defense spending, while Germany favors broader participation.
The two sides already have a sweeping free trade agreement, known as CETA, that eliminated most tariffs.
The United States accounted for 71.7 percent of Canada’s merchandise exports in 2025. Carney wants to double exports to other countries over the next decade.
Canada and the EU are seeking closer cooperation on critical minerals as both sides work to diversify supply chains. Von der Leyen said the value of EU imports of Canadian critical raw materials rose 62 percent last year to $3.7 billion, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite.
Tobias Gehrke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the disagreement over terminology was unlikely to derail closer cooperation.
“There is no magic shortcut to rapidly reducing Europe’s and Canada’s reliance on the US economy and military — not least since Washington might retaliate,” Gehrke said. “But the political window is now wide open to take a much bigger step than was previously conceivable.”