During the EU-Canada summit in Brussels last June, Prime Minister Mark Carney declared, “As the most European of the non-European countries, Canada looks first to the European Union to build a better world.”
This is a sentiment that found surprisingly strong echoes within the Canadian public at large, in an era where President Donald Trump’s economic and political tantrums are prominent.
What the polls say about joining the EU
An Abacus poll of 1,500 adult Canadians, taken between February 20-25, found that 52% expect the EU to be Canada’s most important trade partner over the nest 3-5 years. Only 38% expected the US to retain its current position as our principal trade partner.
A Spark Insights poll of 4,000, conducted in March and released on April 6, went further. A quarter of the respondents believed joining the EU was a good idea and another 57% thought it was worth exploring. The two groups most opposed were Albertans (23%) and Conservatives (30%).
“In other words, majorities in every region, across all party lines, and every generation felt it was at least an idea worth considering,” states the Spark Insights press release.
“Davos (where Carney made his speech before the World Economic Forum) was treated as a dirty word by Conservative leader Poilievre. His Deputy Leader Andrew Scheer was an ebullient cheerleader for Brexit, but neither of these positions has anywhere near the cachet they might have hoped for.”
“In the last several months, Conservatives also spent political capital criticizing the Prime Minister for travelling the world, only to find that the large majority of Canadians felt quite differently, and said these trips should be a priority.”
The idea is seductive
On March 17, the French foreign Minister suggested that Canada could ‘maybe … at some point’ join EU.
A month later, Alexander Stubb, President of Finland, reiterated this idea in an interview with the CBC.
“I think Canada in terms of its whole composure, its value-base, is so close to the European Union that the least we can do is to forge a really close, strategic partnership.”
He pointed out that the EU started out as a union of 6 European nations and is now 27. “I can envisage a much larger EU, whether Canada is a part of it or not is up to Canada to decide.”
An April 37 opinion piece in the Hill Times admits, “The idea is seductive. Confronted with an erratic Washington that continues to use tariffs as a weapon, Canadians are looking at the Atlantic and asking: what if we belong there?”
Of course, Trump’s days are numbered. According to the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” While there is no guarantee that his successor will be any better, we can at least hope.
Trade with the EU
Meanwhile Canada has been pursuing free trade talks with the EU.
Matthias Brinkmann, the EU’s ambassador to Canada, told reporters that one hindrance is that, “Canada wants to export beef to the European Union and wants better market access, but the European Union wants also better market access for dairy products, cheeses and yogurt and so on. The beef sector is protected in the European Union and dairy products in protected in Canada, so there has to be a certain give and take.”
Another sore point is that Canadian agricultural products contain pesticides banned in the EU.
The 2026 Europe Market Intelligence adds that the EU, whose emissions are now 40% below 1990 levels, is a strong market for Clean tech solutions like:
- hydroelectric turbines and generators
- wind turbines
- smart grid technologies
- geothermal heat pumps
As a result of the defence and security partnership Canada signed with the EU last year, Canadian firms can also participate in the rearmament of Europe.
Top image credit: One of the many imports that may be expected, if Canada signs a free trade agreement with the EU , is more cheeses from Amsterdam – photo courtesy clarkworldtravel via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Sign-up for Cortes Currents email-out:
To receive an emailed catalogue of articles on Cortes Currents, send a (blank) email to subscribe to your desired frequency:
- Daily, (articles posted during the last 24 hours) – [email protected]
- Weekly Digest cortescurrents – [email protected]