Canada joining the EU? No longer entirely unthinkable

Canada needs new friends, and joining the European Union no longer seems entirely unthinkable, Aftenposten writes in an analysis from Brussels. Iceland rejected the idea in the past. Now, the newspaper says, a much larger Arctic country is reaching out to Brussels.

The article argues that Canada faces an unusually difficult moment. A break and trade war with the United States would hit Canada hardest, according to the analysis. One Canadian economist has estimated that as many as 90,000 jobs could be lost. Canada also has only one neighbor, the United States.

Closer links with Europe therefore appear increasingly attractive. Canada sees a shared cultural and values-based connection with Europe, the article says. Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to appear at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in mid-September, where he will attend Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the European Union address and deliver his own speech the following day.

The visit comes before a new EU-Canada summit planned for October. The article frames the schedule as a sign of Canada’s effort to strengthen its relationship with Europe, while raising the possibility of a much closer institutional connection.