Gozi: "Canada belongs with Europe"
Mark Carney's address to the European Parliament opens a new phase in the transatlantic relationship. The European Democratic Party calls on the EU–Canada Summit in Montréal to turn that ambition into a concrete political project, built around five pillars.
Sandro Gozi, Secretary General of the European Democratic Party and Member of the European Parliament, has welcomed the speech delivered on 17 September 2026 by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney before the plenary of the European Parliament in Strasbourg as "historic, courageous and profoundly European in spirit".
"It set out a vision of the world that Europe largely shares and confirmed that Canada is more than a strategic partner: it is part of our wider democratic and political family," Gozi said. "At a time when the international order is being reshaped by power politics, economic coercion and growing authoritarianism, Carney has shown the ambition and strategic clarity that this moment demands. Europe should respond with equal ambition."
Five pillars for Montréal
The European Democratic Party calls for the EU–Canada Summit in Montréal on 29–30 October to give political form to this shared ambition, around five pillars.
1. A political association between Canada and the European Union, with the Canadian Prime Minister and relevant ministers regularly invited to European meetings when common strategic interests are discussed, and with much closer coordination on foreign policy and global affairs.
2. A joint EU–Canada Parliamentary Assembly, drawing on the experience of the EU–UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, to give this new relationship a strong democratic and parliamentary dimension.
3. A Euro-Canadian economic area, beginning with the full ratification and implementation of CETA and progressively removing remaining barriers to trade, investment and economic cooperation. Europe and Canada should also build integrated strategic supply chains in critical minerals, clean energy and key industrial technologies.
4. A common security and defence architecture, with Canada systematically associated with relevant European defence initiatives and projects and represented in a future European Security Council. Canada's participation in SAFE — as the first non-European country to join the EU defence procurement instrument — demonstrates that deeper integration is not theoretical: it is already happening. The next step should be stronger cooperation on defence procurement, military mobility, cybersecurity, space, the Arctic and the protection of critical infrastructure.
5. A common space for technology, research and people, building on Canada’s participation in Horizon Europe — a programme Prime Minister Carney himself highlighted in his address to the European Parliament today —and the EU–Canada Digital Partnership. Europe and Canada should deepen cooperation on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors and secure digital infrastructure, while creating new opportunities for students, researchers, entrepreneurs and young professionals to study, work and innovate across the Atlantic, including through Canada’s participation in Erasmus+.
An alliance of democracies
"Canada belongs with Europe, and Europe belongs with Canada. Our relationship is rooted not only in common interests, but in history, deep human ties and the values that unite us: freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human dignity. The time has come to give political form to this natural alliance," Gozi said.
"A stronger Euro-Canadian partnership can become one of the pillars of the broader alliance of democracies that we have long called for — democracies capable of defending their sovereignty, reducing dangerous dependencies and shaping the international order rather than simply adapting to it. Montréal should be the moment when this shared ambition becomes a concrete political project: a Euro-Canadian space of democracy, security, prosperity and freedom."
