Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is travelling to Europe as Ottawa seeks to deepen its relationship with the European Union amid worsening trade tensions with the United States.
Carney is scheduled to visit Strasbourg and Liverpool. In Strasbourg, he will address the European Parliament and meet lawmakers to discuss stronger Canadian ties with the EU in trade, investment and security. He is also due to attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address on Wednesday, according to Euronews.
A senior Canadian official familiar with the talks told the Associated Press that Carney is expected to seek a new arrangement that could allow Canadians to live and work across the EU without visa restrictions. Euronews reported that Ottawa is not seeking a Norway- or Switzerland-style relationship and has not proposed associate membership of the bloc.
Instead, Canada is looking for a bespoke arrangement centred on investment and aligned with its own priorities. Carney said on Sunday that Canada did not want to become an EU member, but was seeking what he called a “unique alliance” with the bloc.
The European push comes as Canada and the United States remain involved in a trade dispute. Euronews reported that negotiations on an agreement to prevent substantial duties on some Canadian goods broke down last month. After that failure, US duties of 50% on about C$28bn of Canadian goods took effect in late August, while Ottawa announced counter-tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on about C$27.6bn of US imports.
Carney has nevertheless said that the United States will remain Canada’s most important partner in several key areas. During the UK leg of his trip, he is due to meet British counterpart Andy Burnham for the first time, with defence, security, artificial intelligence, energy and critical minerals among the issues expected to be discussed.