Canada will decide for itself who it will strike deals with, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday in response to U.S. President Trump’s criticism of the proposed closer ties between the EU and Canada, including an EU proposal for Canada to become its first associate member.
– “No one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” Carney told reporters at the European parliament in Strasbourg.
– Carney said Canada could also be a more effective partner to the U.S. through a closer association with the EU, and said the substance of any new relation would be more important than the term that would be used for it.
https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-will-decide-its-own-partnerships-carney-says-2026-09-17