Canada reaches out its hand to the EU: "A tree falls in the middle of this storm; a forest, resists"

BrusselsThe last time the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, gave a speech before a major international forum, his message sounded like a wake-up call in the offices of European capitals. Amidst escalating tensions with Donald Trump and a transformation of the international order, Carney proposed that middle powers join forces to gain room for maneuver against the great powers. "When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemonic power, we negotiate from weakness. (...) This is not sovereignty. It is representing sovereignty while accepting subordination," he asserted in January in Davos.

Eight months later, the Canadian Prime Minister addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg with a European proposal on the table: to make Canada the first associate member of the European Union, a formula that does not yet exist in European treaties. This Thursday, Carney "welcomed" Von der Leyen's proposal to strengthen the relationship with the Twenty-seven with an "alliance for the future," despite the threats from the American president, who had warned early this morning that he would cut trade relations with the EU if he considered this link to be "a hostile act". "Canada and Europe are strong on their own. Europe and Canada are stronger together," he declared.

The Canadian leader detailed how, in his view, the alliance with the European Union should be concretized. The purpose should not be to guarantee "self-sufficiency" but "collective resilience." Thus, he argued that cooperation must focus on "the entire spectrum of strategic capabilities," such as critical minerals, industrial defense capacity, artificial intelligence and computing capacity, energy security, space, and payment systems.

The Canadian Prime Minister highlighted what he believes his country can offer: one of the world's largest reserves of critical minerals, great capabilities in the fields of space, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, one of the most solid banking systems, a unique Arctic geography, and privileged access to both Atlantic and Pacific networks. "Where our strengths are different, they complement each other. Where they overlap, they generate scale," he stated.

He also noted that Canada's participation in the Erasmus+ exchange program would give students "more opportunities to study at some of the best universities in the world, broaden their horizons and build those lasting ties that will sustain our alliance in the future".

"New storms"

The Canadian Prime Minister began his speech by evoking the Ettersberg forest, in the Weimar Republic, where the German poet Goethe used to walk, and where an oak tree came to bear his name and become a monument to the highest ideals of European culture: reason and freedom. Years later, this tree was captured by the Buchenwald concentration camp, built expressly around it. From this metaphor, Carney drew a message: freedom is not won once and for all; "it must be defended every day".

Today, our societies "are once again being shaken by new storms," he lamented. Climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, the use of trade and law as instruments of coercion, the fragility of supply chains, and the way in which technological platforms aspire to control society are some of the challenges he listed. In this context, "a tree will fall in the midst of this storm; a forest will not," he stated.

Although he did not mention the President of the United States at any point, he was present throughout the Canadian leader's speech. After the trade agreement they were negotiating collapsed this summer, both countries ended up imposing mutual tariffs of 50%. To calm the waters, Carney made it clear that the alliance does not seek to create a "third bloc" or become a rival power "with better manners." Rather, it wants to strengthen sovereignty to ensure that "no one, no one" can control open markets, democracies, or freedoms.