Carney says Canada will pursue ‘unique security and economic alliance’ with EU amid US trade spat

Mark Carney, primeiro‑ministro do Canadá, fala durante a Cúpula de Investimento do Canadá em Toronto, Ontário, Canadá, em 15 de setembro de 2026. Fotografia: Carlos Osorio/Reuters.

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleMark Carney said Canada will pursue a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe as he positions his country as a base to build in the “new global economic order”.

Speaking to investors, company executives and government ministers at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit on Tuesday, the prime minister pitched Canada as a “safe harbour” and lucrative home for foreign capital as his government looks to reduce its reliance on trade with the United States.

Over the last 18 months, the relationship with the US has fractured, leaving Canada searching for ways to avert economic devastation.

Embora Carney tenha chamado a disputa comercial de “war”, havia um duplo senso de otimismo na cúpula entre altos funcionários canadenses de que a perspectiva mais global do país poderia trazer centenas de bilhões em novos investimentos para o país.

That shift has been exemplified in recent weeks by Carney’s effort to strengthen Canada’s economic and political ties to the EU. Noting in his remarks at the summit that Canada is the only non-European member of Europe’s defence procurement initiative, the prime minister said his government will pursue a “unique” relationship with the bloc.

He mused about the range of possibilities, including the prospect of visa-free travel and work between the two that has been raised in recent days, but said Canada and the EU were in early stage of talks.

Carney will be the guest of honour at the European parliament’s plenary meeting in Strasbourg this week. He will attend European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s annual state of the union speech on Wednesday, where she is expected to sketch out new areas for EU-Canada cooperation.

On Thursday, Carney will address MEPs in von der Leyen’s presence. The commission president hastily changed her plans to stay in Strasbourg, after being criticised over her initial “unacceptable” decision to skip Carney’s speech and return to Brussels.

Oficiais europeus buscam aproximar o Canadá da UE, sem que isso signifique adesão plena. Contudo, não será chamado de associação associada, pois a UE pretende manter uma distinção clara entre membros e não‑membros.

The long experience of Brexit negotiations cemented the EU’s preference not to split the four freedoms of its single market – free movement of people, services, goods and capital – so any deepening of the Canada relationship will be built around this red line.

More immediately, the EU hopes to improve ties on raw materials and energy.

Javier Moreno Sánchez, a Spanish socialist MEP, who leads the European parliament’s Canada delegation, said he wanted to hear “concrete steps” from von der Leyen on how to improve the EU-Canada relationship, calling for greater mobility for professionals, more student exchanges, joint work on defence and artificial intelligence.

A UE e o Canadá já têm uma relação abrangente, incluindo um acordo de livre comércio e acordos separados sobre cooperação digital, matérias‑primas, pesquisa e uma aliança verde compartilhada.

Earlier this year, Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s €150bn defence loans scheme, meaning greater opportunities for Canadian defence firms to supply Europe.

Mas irritantes persistem. Dez Estados‑membros da UE, incluindo França, Itália e Polônia, ainda não ratificaram o marco histórico do EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) quase uma década após sua assinatura, significando que partes do acordo ainda não entraram em vigor.

French lawmaker Valérie Hayer, Emmanuel Macron’s ally in the European parliament, acknowledged the problem. “In the French parliament this agreement has yet to be ratified, notwithstanding the [trade] figures which are extremely good.

That is why I call on political leaders [in France] to do their bit to act responsibly as elsewhere to make sure that we [the EU] can count for more in world affairs.”.

Hayer’s centrist Renew group, only the fifth-largest in the European parliament, is calling on EU member states and the commission to speed up Ceta ratification and launch an awareness-raising drive so European and Canadian companies have better knowledge of the trade opportunities.

But ahead of a year of big elections – in France, Italy and Poland – progress on ratifying the 10-year-old agreement looks uncertain.

Despite a deliberate push to increase global trade, Carney acknowledged the geographic realities of Canada’s proximity to its southern neighbour, and the reality, which most economists concede, that the US will remain Canada’s largest trading partner.

Nas últimas semanas, Trump tem ameaçado a economia do Canadá e refletido sobre uma América do Norte sob o guarda-chuva de um EUA expandido.

O anfitrião do evento, Erik Schatzker, disse aos participantes que o Canadá não era nem um “bystander nor a victim” nos dramáticos deslocamentos geopolíticos que definiram a era Trump.

Carney said foreign investment has dramatically increased and the federal government was on track to balance the operating budget one year ahead of schedule, an announcement that received applause from the crowd.

He announced a corporate tax “mega-deduction” that would help compete with similar incentives in the US allowing companies to immediately deduct 100% of the cost of new investment across more assets than previously permitted.

Carney also confirmed Canada would open four of its major airports to foreign investment in order to “unlock their true value”. The prime minister also said his government would “apply [the] lessons” of instances in which allowing partial private investment had failed.

Mas esse tema – buscar centenas de bilhões em investimento estrangeiro enquanto também traz de volta a capacidade doméstica – frustrou alguns.

Ahead of the summit, thousands gathered in downtown Toronto for the Many vs the Money counter protest. Organisers said public money should not be used to reduce the risks of private investment while communities are left to shoulder the social and environmental costs of these projects.