The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has told Canadian prime minister Mark Carney that she wants Canada to become the EU's first "associate member", offering Ottawa a significantly closer relationship in response to strained US-Canada ties. The move follows Donald Trump's tariffs and repeated suggestions that Canada could become the 51st US state, which have pushed Canada to seek deeper economic and security links with Europe, with Carney himself calling for a "unique alliance" with the bloc.

Von der Leyen made the offer during her annual state of the European Union address, saying she wanted to build on the existing EU-Canada free trade agreement (Ceta) with a broader "alliance for the future" spanning advanced manufacturing, defence production, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, AI, quantum computing and cybersecurity. She framed the partnership as grounded in shared democratic values rather than being directed against any other country, and Carney received a standing ovation from European lawmakers, ahead of a planned address to the European parliament on Thursday.