Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is reportedly considering drawing Canada closer to the European Union, potentially as a new "associate member", as relations with Washington deteriorate over an escalating trade war with President Trump. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, Carney has spent months weighing deeper integration of Canada's 41 million people into the EU, a move he believes could bring significant economic and political benefits, though it risks further inflaming tensions with the United States and is far from guaranteed to succeed.

Carney has reportedly held regular talks with European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, about allowing Canadians to live and work in the EU without visas. The EU, traditionally inflexible on membership rules, is said to be open to creating a new associate status for Canada, though officials note that even a far more modest Canada-EU trade deal struck over a decade ago still has not been ratified by several member states. The push comes amid a sharp deterioration in US-Canada relations since Trump returned to office in early 2025, marked by tariffs on tens of billions of dollars in trade, a dispute over Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario to "Lake America", and threats to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, parts and steel to 50% by 2027, with Carney vowing to retaliate "dollar for dollar".