> Carney says Canada will decide its own partnerships after Trump calls EU proposal ‘laughable’

Key Points
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has backed closer Canada-EU ties, including Brussels’ push for associate membership.

Carney warned that tariffs and supply chains are being weaponized, as tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump escalate.

Canada and the EU aim to deepen cooperation on trade, defense, AI, climate and Arctic security.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed the European Union’s ambition to make Ottawa an associate member of the 27-nation bloc and said Canadian lawmakers would ultimately vote on the final structure of the alliance.

“Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together,” Carney told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.

Canada’s prime minister did not name President Donald Trump in his speech, but he nodded to his U.S. counterpart’s use of tariffs by saying, “Economic integration is now being weaponized — tariffs being used to exert pressure.”

Speaking in French, Carney continued: “Financial mechanisms have been used for coercion. Supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited.”

His comments come shortly after Trump described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as “laughable” and threatened the bloc with tariffs if he deemed the move to be a “hostile act.”

Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Trump called Canada a “terrible trade partner” and said the U.S. could even “stop trading with Europe on many things” if the EU moves ahead with its plan. “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump said.

The Trump administration recently increased tariffs on Canadian goods, prompting Canada to respond with levies of its own. Carney has pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods dollar for dollar.

More here: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/17/carney- … ember.html [Highly Credible Source (Liberal)]