“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada and our European partners are moving ever closer.” Prime Minister Mark Carney said that in the statement announcing a trip to Strasbourg, France, and Liverpool in the United Kingdom, running from September 15 to September 17, 2026.
The calculus behind it is plain enough. Ottawa wants deeper ties with Europe on trade, investment and security, and it is going to the institutions to get them.
Strasbourg: Parliament and the State of the Union
At the invitation of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Carney will address the Parliament. He will also sit in on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address and meet members of the European Parliament. A Canadian prime minister in the chamber for the EU’s biggest annual speech is a strategic signal in itself.
The economic stakes are large. The EU is Canada’s second-largest trading partner for goods and services, with about $178 billion in trade in 2025. It is also the second-largest source of foreign direct investment after the United States: EU investment stock in Canada was estimated at $217 billion in 2025, against $315 billion in Canadian direct investment in the EU.
Liverpool: a first meeting with Burnham
From Strasbourg Carney goes to Liverpool, where he meets UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for the first time. The agenda covers defence and security, energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.
Building on a run of firsts
The trip follows a string of moves since Carney formed government. In June 2025, at the 20th Canada-EU Summit, the two sides launched the New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure. They also signed the Security and Defence Partnership, a non-legally binding framework that brings their security and defence work under one political roof.
In February 2026, on the margins of the Munich Security Conference, Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s Security Action for Europe initiative, known as SAFE. Ottawa says it has opened hundreds of millions of dollars in opportunities and market access for Canadian defence industries, businesses and workers. In May, Carney became the first non-European leader at the European Political Community Summit, held in Armenia.
Canada hosts the next Canada-EU Summit from October 29 to 30, 2026. The government describes European allies as natural partners, “bound by shared history, values, and increasingly shared interests and ambitions.”
