Canadians warm to EU ‘associate membership’ proposal

Some Canadians are already embracing their newfound European identities after the European Union floated the potential for “associate member” status amid the trade war with the United States.

“Telling my boss I don’t need to show up for work today cuz I’m [European],” an X user joked as talk of closer ties between Canada and the EU spawned a flood of memes about everything from cigarettes for breakfast to generous European vacation time.

“If Canada joins the EU I’m taking [seven] weeks off work next summer,” wrote another user.

Canada is not joining the EU, but the prospect of a new kind of relationship with Europe had been kicking around for days.

It comes after Canada and the US’s trade war broke out as negotiations failed to head off US President Donald Trump’s threatened 50 percent tariffs on nearly $20bn worth of Canadian products, including machinery, textiles and hockey sticks. Back-and-forth retaliatory measures have resulted in both sides slapping new tariffs on each other.

Canadian officials initially pushed back on news reports of the “associate membership” possibility with the EU.

Then, on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the proposal public. By Thursday, Canada’s own vision was becoming clearer.

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed von der Leyen’s ambition, describing what he wanted as an “alliance for the future” spanning critical minerals, defence, artificial intelligence, energy, digital trade, research and financial services.

He also called for making it easier for young Canadians and Europeans to work, study and live on either side of the Atlantic.

“Canada and Europe are each strong,” Carney told EU legislators. “Europe and Canada are stronger together.”

In response to the talks of closer economic relations, Trump threatened to take action against the EU if it moves forward with von der Leyen’s proposal of associate membership for Canada.

“If they do that, if I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things,” Trump told reporters, calling the proposal “laughable”.

Looking beyond the US

Whatever the partnership is ultimately called, getting closer to Europe appears to have broad support at home.

An Abacus Data survey conducted from September 4 to 9, before the proposal was officially confirmed, found 81 percent of Canadians supported closer integration with the EU while remaining outside the bloc, including making it easier for transatlantic trade, travel, work and study. Eighty percent backed deeper cooperation on foreign policy, defence and economic priorities, up six percentage points since February.

David Coletto, founder and CEO of Abacus Data, said he did not expect those numbers to have shifted significantly now that the conversation has turned to “associate membership”.

He said the support makes more sense against a striking shift in how Canadians view the United States. Positive impressions of the EU have risen to 71 percent, while just 21 percent now have a positive view of the US.

“Canadians overwhelmingly [feel] still angry and a sense of betrayal over how the Trump administration has approached the Canada-US relationship,” Coletto told Al Jazeera.

Flight attendant Donna Gordon welcomes closer ties. She was among several people Al Jazeera spoke to in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on Thursday.

She said they made sense given “the state of our negotiations with the United States right now, or lack thereof”. Having travelled frequently to Europe for work, she said she had seen its “efficiency” and “innovation” firsthand.

She was particularly excited about what closer ties could mean for younger Canadians, including greater opportunities to study and work in Europe.

The pull of Europe

For Riyad Choy, that possibility was one of the biggest draws. The Canadian who works for a tech company in New York said greater freedom to live and work in Europe was particularly appealing.

“I would love to have the opportunity,” he said. “I want to be able to have that freedom of movement.”

While older Canadians were more likely to prioritise trade and security, 38 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds polled by Abacus listed study, training and research among their top priorities for a closer EU relationship.

“The thing that most people in Canada and I think a lot of people around the world are just seeking more agency, more control to make choices for themselves,” Coletto said.

For many Canadians, Europe may feel like a natural place to exercise that choice.

Asked which side they had more in common with in terms of values, way of life and outlook on the world, 56 percent chose countries in the EU. Only 16 percent chose the United States.

Peter Van Driel is a hydrogeologist whose father is Dutch Canadian and who previously lived in Germany. He described Canada as culturally “sort of in between” Europe and the United States, pointing to differences in healthcare, gun laws, parental leave and vacation time.

“We’re not as generous as Europe, but more generous than the States,” he said.

But while Van Driel said there was little point trying to please a US administration that was “not being a good partner”, he cautioned against pursuing closer ties with Europe simply as a reaction to Washington.

“I want to see us explore EU partnerships for positive reasons,” he said, pointing to Canada’s natural resources and critical minerals, as well as similarities in education and values.

Defining the relationship

What those partnerships will actually entail, however, remains an open question. The two sides are expected to keep fleshing out the relationship in the coming weeks, including at a Canada-EU summit in Montreal next month.

That uncertainty has given critics room to offer their own interpretations.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre framed closer integration as a question of Canadian sovereignty after von der Leyen’s “associate membership” proposal.

“No EU taxes, no EU laws and no EU open-border immigration policies should be imposed on Canadians. Canada must be independent and sovereign. Period,” Poilievre said.

None of those measures have been proposed. There is no indication that Canada would be required to adopt EU taxes or laws, or open its borders under the arrangement being discussed.

But the polling suggests that those critiques may have an audience and that support for closer ties has its limits. While 81 percent backed greater integration while Canada remained outside the EU, support stood at 49 percent when respondents were asked about full membership, with 30 percent opposed and 21 percent unsure.

The partisan gap was wider on full membership: 64 percent of Liberal voters supported it, compared with 33 percent of Conservatives. Yet 70 percent of Conservative voters still backed closer integration while remaining outside the bloc.

Nancy Tung, a retired legal assistant, said Canada had been too reliant on the United States and should “spread its wings”, citing potential benefits for trade, business and international relationships.

She said, however, that she wanted any relationship with Europe to remain an “equal partnership” and wondered what Canada might be expected to contribute financially.

“Do we have to contribute a lot?” she asked. “In the long run, do we have any monetary obligation?”

Narcisse Kakegabon, a band councillor with Long Lake 58 First Nation, also saw potential benefits in finding new markets for Canadian products and minerals, but worried about how the Trump administration might respond.

“You get all the threats from the US, Donald Trump, about there could be consequences for Canada and the EU,” he said. “We really don’t know what’s gonna happen.”