PM Mark Carney is moving ahead with his EU alliance despite European objections to Canada’s proposed “associate membership” and Conservative warnings that deeper integration could threaten Canadian sovereignty.
The statement calls for an “ever-closer association” just short of outright official EU membership by 2027, expanding cooperation on trade, defence, technology and labour mobility.
The deal follows objections from several European governments to describing Canada as an EU ‘associate member’.
Germany, France, Italy and Greece all raised issues with the draft, with Germany, in particular, pushing to remove the undefined status. Concerns also focused on the term’s legal implications.
