France’s Macron and Canada’s Carney announce plans to build stronger ties

Canada and France will pursue cooperation on energy, defence, space and other sectors, in what their leaders say is a reflection of shared values between the two countries.

The announcement was made on Sunday during a joint media conference by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron on the island archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic.

The French territory is only about 25km (15.5 miles) from Newfoundland in Canada. Macron said it is a reflection of the historic closeness between the two countries, who “see the present from the same angle”.

Parts of Canada were once French colonies and French is still one of Canada’s two official languages, along with English.

“We both believe in democracy, in the rule of law, in the respect of international law, in the respect of free and fair commerce and trade,” Macron said alongside Carney. “That is why we support this future alliance, that you named as an associate member of the EU.”

Carney said both countries see eye to eye on protecting sovereignty, and that this meant going beyond “being able to feed, fuel and defend ourselves” to being able to secure access to AI, space, semiconductors, critical minerals and clean energy. Carney said the time had come to strengthen bonds between Canada, France and the European Union based on their “shared values”.

The remarks came as Canada looks to reduce its dependence on the United States amid the escalating trade dispute between the neighbours and instead move closer to the EU.

Carney has said Canada seeks a “unique alliance” with the economic and political bloc, which would fall short of being a full member state. Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed opening the door for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member.”

Canadian and European leaders have openly said they want to forge closer bonds to distance themselves from the United States and the political direction it seems to be going.

“I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival – only with better manners,” Carney said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday. “We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make it the “51st state”. He has also called for Greenland to be taken away from Denmark and made a part of the US. But this week, he said he was happy with an agreement that he claimed would give Washington “permanent control” over the island, which largely enjoys self-rule but is still a part of Denmark. Both Greenland and Denmark said after the agreement was announced that any deal with the US would not compromise Greenland’s sovereignty.

Trump has called Ottawa’s attempt to move closer to the EU “laughable” and said he would have to study exactly what membership would mean. If it did not satisfy him, Trump said it could be seen as a “hostile act”.

“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs,” Trump said. He also suggested that the US could stop trading with Europe “on many things”.

Canada and the US have been locked in a trade war after failing to reach an agreement. The Trump administration imposed up to 50 percent tariffs on nearly $20bn worth of Canadian products, including machinery, textiles and even hockey sticks. Canada imposed retaliatory measures and the impasse continues.