Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is not seeking membership in the European Union (EU), but is pursuing a closer relationship with the bloc through discussions on a possible unique alliance. His comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that Canada and the EU were examining an associate membership arrangement, potentially covering trade and strategic cooperation. Areas under discussion include easier movement of goods, services and workers in energy, artificial intelligence, defense and critical minerals, alongside projects involving undersea cables, data centers, cloud storage, satellite networks and infrastructure for exporting Canadian energy to Europe. Carney's office said Saturday that he will visit France and Britain next week, address the European Parliament in Strasbourg and attend EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address. Canada's effort to diversify its economic relationships comes as trade tensions with the United States worsen and bilateral trade talks have collapsed. President Donald Trump said Canada was the worst country to deal with, while saying Ottawa wanted an agreement, and reiterated plans to impose new tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks and auto parts starting Jan. 1.