Canada is pursuing a closer relationship with the European Union as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States and strengthen economic resilience. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed exploring Canada’s status as the EU’s first "associate member," while Carney backed a broader partnership spanning critical minerals, defense, artificial intelligence, energy, research, financial services and digital trade. The concept would build on the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, which has been provisionally applied since September 2017 but remains unratified by 10 EU member states. Neither side is proposing full EU membership, and the legal structure, rights and obligations of associate membership have yet to be defined. The initiative comes amid deteriorating Canada-US relations, including a tariff dispute involving 50% duties on roughly $20 billion of selected goods. The United States accounted for 71.7% of Canadian merchandise exports in 2025, according to Statistics Canada. US President Donald Trump has warned that a Canada-EU arrangement pursued with what he considers bad intentions could be a hostile act and trigger heavy tariffs or trade restrictions. Carney said Canada would choose its own international partners. The next major milestone is a Canada-EU summit scheduled for Oct. 29-30 in Montreal, where officials are expected to develop the framework further.