Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to a roundtable event at the EU-Canada summit in Montreal, on Oct. 29, 2026.Pool photo by Christopher Katsarov/ AFP via Getty Images

Mark Carney puts deadline on EU ‘associate membership’ push – POLITICO

by · POLITICO

MONTREAL — Canada embraced the European Union’s offer of “associate membership” after a two-day summit at which Brussels and Ottawa gave themselves until next June to work out what their new relationship will look like.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s endorsement of the proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen followed weeks of hesitation, a hostile response from U.S. President Donald Trump and pushback from EU heavyweight Germany.

“In the coming months, we will determine the full substance, scale, and scope of this new form of membership,” Carney told a press conference on Friday at the end of the two-day summit at the Port of Montreal.