Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is exploring closer ties with the European Union, including becoming an “associate member” of the bloc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The status does not currently exist, but the EU could be open to creating special membership arrangements, the newspaper said, citing unnamed EU and Canadian officials. The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
The report comes ahead of a speech by Carney to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, where he is expected to set out his vision for Canada-EU ties in a challenging geopolitical environment.
Ottawa is locked in a historic trade war with the United States, with steep tariffs in place and no signs of de-escalation.
The EU and Canada are in talks on ways to ease trade rules of Canadian goods, services and workers between the two sides, particularly in areas including energy, artificial intelligence, defence and critical minerals, according to the report.
