Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the invitation for his country to become the European Union's first-ever "associate member" in a speech delivered before the European Parliament on Thursday.
He later stressed that the outcome of the negotiations would respect Canadian sovereignty and be put to a final vote in Ottawa. Notably, he said the "nomenclature" would be for Brussels to discuss and decide.
"Canada welcomes this ambition. And I will tell you, polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Canadians support much closer ties with Europe," he said in Strasbourg.
Carney portrayed an ever-closer EU-Canada alliance as a "beacon for other democracies" based on shared values and "open enough that others can join".
He cited energy security, critical minerals, defence capabilities, artificial intelligence and finance as areas for deeper integration. He also said the two sides should work to allow young people to "live, work and study" on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Carney's speech came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU's first-ever "associate member", a novel concept that lacks legal precedent and raises more questions than answers.
Overnight, US President Donald Trump threatened to slap "very serious tariffs" on Europeans if the idea of "associate membership" were carried out as a "hostile act".
Here's how the day unfolded.
