Canada and EU announce new alliance open to like-minded countries

Canada and Europe have announced a new alliance of like-minded nations to serve as both a “protective canopy under which our citizens can thrive” and a powerful hedge against the unpredictable nature of geopolitics, while welcoming other countries to join.

Speaking to reporters on Friday from Montreal, the prime minister, Mark Carney, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, called the new partnership the Alliance for the Future and said the “deepest possible partnership between Canada and the 27-member bloc had the potential to offer unprecedented stability and opportunity”.

As they concluded their two-day summit, Canada agreed to contribute to a €90bn support loan for Ukraine. Leaders also said future discussions would lead to a more integrated market worth tens of billions of dollars, reduced trade and travel restrictions, and new educational opportunities for both sides.

While a trade war between Canada and the United States has seen Carney go hunting for new geopolitical partners, an over-reliance on American companies – especially for defence – has also given Canada pause.

Carney has also repeatedly raised the concern that Canada’s defense technologies could be at the whim of political actors or companies with opposing interests. He has been pointing to a planned merger between the Canadian artificial intelligence company Cohere Inc and Germany’s Aleph Alpha GmbH as a step to lessening reliance on American AI giants; The tie-up will see the newly formed company have dual headquarters in Berlin and Toronto, and Canada’s federal government has announced a stake in Cohere worth up to C$1.6bn.