Article content
OTTAWA — Some have called it an “associate memberships.” Others, a historic deeper partnership. Prime Minister Mark Carney described it as a “unique alliance.”
Sign In or Create an Account
or View more offersArticle content
No matter what it’s called, one thing is for certain: Carney is heading to the European Parliament this week with the intention of pitching a whole new relationship directly to elected representatives of the massive block of 27 European countries.
Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
On Tuesday, Carney will leave Toronto and fly to Strasbourg, France, to hear EU President Ursula von der Leyen deliver her annual “State of the European Union” speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday. He will also make a quick in-and-out trip to the U.K. to meet new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Article contentArticle content
He will then deliver his own speech to EU representatives on Thursday, one a senior government official said will serve to deliver a message that Canada wants to “create a deeper alliance” on a range of files including trade, defence and “people-to-people” ties (culture, travel, etc.).
Article content
“I don’t expect any massive deliverables,” said the source, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “If you’ve paid attention to anything the prime minister has been saying for the last 18 months, none of what he will say in his Strasburg speech is going to be a surprise.”
Article content
While many expect Strasburg to be a redux of Carney’s now-famous Davos speech last January, in effect it’s just setting the table for a much bigger feast for the prime minister: a EU-Canada Summit in Montreal in late October.
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The summit is where Carney’s government is expected to start putting ink to paper, signing agreements that aim to facilitate travel mobility for Canadian workers, students and travellers to the EU, increase collaboration on artificial intelligence and get more Canadian energy to Europe.
Article contentRead More
- Canada seeking ‘unique alliance’ with EU, not membership: Carney
- Canadians are ‘overwhelmingly open’ to closer EU ties as Carney heads to Europe: poll
- Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
All of this happening amid the failure of trade talks and an escalating war of tariffs and words with U.S. President Donald Trump since last month.
Article content
As Carney told Bloomberg on Monday, the new relationship with the U.S. isn’t going to be “solved” in Strasbourg, but “it’s the start of a process, a high-ambition process” leading to the October summit.
Article content
As a sign of the importance of the summit to Carney, he put it in the hands of his “personal representative” to the European Union: John Hannaford, the former clerk of the privy council (the government’s top public servant).
Article content
“I think that’s where the formal announcements would be made,” said Senator Peter Boehm, a retired longtime Canadian diplomat and unofficial advisor to many in Carney’s government.
Article content
The Strasbourg speech Thursday, he noted, will allow the prime minister to impress a sense of urgency on the notoriously slow EU bureaucracy.