A senior government source tells CTV News Canada is not seeking European Union membership in any capacity, pushing back against reporting by The Wall Street Journal that Prime Minister Mark Carney is exploring whether Canada could become an “associate member” of the bloc.
The source, who is not authorized to speak publicly, insists what is being reported “overstates” what is actually happening.
The WSJ report cited sources from multiple unnamed European officials.
While the prime minister and his government are looking to continue deepening ties with the EU, the source said “that’s nothing new” and that efforts to increase ties with Europe simply will build on framework that was agreed to during an EU-Canada summit in Brussels last year.
At the joint summit last June, Canada and the EU signed a strategic partnership aimed at furthering collaboration in key sectors. They also signed security and defence partnership that saw Canada position itself to take part in Europe’s new defence procurement program known as ReArm Europe.
The prime minister is set to travel to Strasbourg, France to deliver a speech to European Parliament this week.
Carney will also visit Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a French territory off the coast of Newfoundland, to visit with French President Emmanuel Macron later in the week. In addition, Canada is set to host a Canada-EU summit in late October.
Earlier this week, The European Union’s ambassador to Canada told The Canadian Press that the EU is crafting a new partnership with Canada.
“What we have in mind is something different from what we have with other countries,” Geneviève Tuts said in a Wednesday interview. “That will be something unique.”
