Stéphane Dion is the Diplomat in Residence at the Université de Montréal as well as a former envoy to the European Union.
On March 16, Finnish President Alexander Stubb invited Prime Minister Mark Carney to consider Canada's accession to the European Union (EU). On the same day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also mentioned, only half-jokingly, such an entry of Canada into the EU.1
Since The Economist launched the idea in January 2025,2 it periodically resurfaces, notably among Canadian and European experts on Canada-EU relations.3
Prime Minister Carney rejected this possibility, preferring to conclude concrete and comprehensive partnership agreements with the EU and its member states on trade, defence, and other issues of common interest. He is right in my opinion.
Canada’s membership in the EU is unrealistic and, moreover, undesirable. I suggest, however, that what is feasible and desirable is Canada’s entry into the European Political Community, a coordination forum launched four years ago at the suggestion of Emmanuel Macron that brings together the leaders of the entire European continent, beyond the European Union, twice a year.
The loss of sovereignty that our entry into the EU would entail would never be accepted by Canadians and would require impossible trade-offs within our decentralized federation: who, Ottawa or the provinces, should give up more of their powers to Brussels? We would probably have to reopen our Constitution!
It would be impossible for Canada to have its cake and eat it too, that is to say, to benefit from the advantages of EU membership without the resulting obligations. Otherwise, the EU would implode because all member states would want the same thing.
To embark on such a negotiation, long and difficult, there would need to be a consensus in Canada. A March 2025 poll did indeed show a plurality in favour of joining the EU (44% in favour, 34% opposed)4 but how long would it withstand the multiple compromises that would have to be made (the abolition of supply management, for example)?
From the Europeans’ point of view, mustering the unanimity of the member states required for our accession would be quite a challenge. Already, they are having all the difficulties ratifying the trade agreement we have with them (CETA). More than eight years after its implementation, ten out of 27 member states still have not ratified it.
As for the intermediate solutions of partial integration adopted by Norway or Switzerland, that would require us to accept dynamic alignment, that is to say, to comply with EU rules over which we would have no formal right to vote. In addition, we would have to make significant financial contributions to the EU.
We would feel uncomfortable in this complex organization where important decisions are made by the unanimous agreement of member states or by a demanding qualified majority. It’s as if the Canadian federal budget depended on the agreement of our ten provinces. Can we imagine how long our budget negotiations would take? In fact, for Europe, the situation is even worse, since unanimity must be obtained not from ten, but from twenty-seven members, among whom there are some where values of liberal democracy and good governance are still poorly rooted.
One must be wary of short-term perspectives that currently make us look at Brussels as so much more attractive than Washington. In three years, there will probably be a White House tenant as friendly to Canada as Donald Trump’s predecessors have been. In what political health will the EU be? How far will the rise of radical right-wing, Eurosceptic, and Brussels-hostile parties go? Will it go as far as taking power in Paris? Or even in Berlin?
So let’s be concrete: let’s truly implement all these partnership agreements that we sign with Europeans and fully take advantage of them, starting with CETA. According to the Chief Economist of Global Affairs Canada, only 60% of its potential is used by our businesses. Reaching 100% may not be realistic, but there is room for improvement.
Another thing that should be done, and I openly make the proposal here, is Canada’s membership in the European Political Community (EPC). Created in 2022 at the proposal of President Macron, it brings together the leaders of 47 European countries to promote their cooperation on common issues such as security, stability, and prosperity. Only two European countries are not invited: Russia and Belarus, due to the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Our membership in this political coordination platform would be entirely beneficial. It would strengthen our ties with Europe and allow our Prime Minister to consult with the leaders of countries he would never have time to visit individually. It would consolidate our status as the most European of non-European countries. Admittedly, this would require the Prime Minister to attend two additional meetings to Europe each year, but these trips could be combined with statutory events, such as the NATO summit or the Canada-EU summit.
I know that several European leaders would welcome such an accession by Canada. A first step could be for Prime Minister Carney to be invited as the keynote speaker at an upcoming EPC summit. Without being too presumptuous, one might think that crowned by the immense success of his Davos speech he would be received with open arms!
A version of this article appeared in La Presse.
« Et si le Canada rejoignait l’UE ? Le ministre des Affaires étrangères relance l’idée », Paris Match, March 18, 2026 https://www.parismatch.com/actu/international/et-si-le-canada-rejoignait-lue-le-ministre-des-affaires-etrangeres-relance-lidee-266102
“ Why Canada should join the EU”, January 2, 2025 https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/02/why-canada-should-join-the-eu
Augusto Lopez-Claros, “View from Europe: The Increasingly Convincing Case for Canada Joining the EU”, January 28, 2026 https://www.policymagazine.ca/view-from-europe-the-increasingly-convincing-case-for-canada-joining-the-eu/. Frédéric Mérand, « Voici comment le Canada peut se rapprocher davantage de l’Europe », Options politiques, March 14, 2025
“What Canadians think about Canada joining the European Union” March 10, 2025 https://abacusdata.ca/what-canadians-think-about-canada-joining-the-european-union/
Interesting perspective, but I doubt that after the Trump Administration we will or should return to a cosy relationship with the U.S.
I previously hadn't considered the possibility of Canada joining the EU, but I agree with M. Dion. It would be far too complicated for both parties. Both have issues now with reaching consensus.
I can't imagine tossing 10 provinces, 3 territories, two official languages, 1 federal government and several indigenous nations/languages/traditions, with each involving diverse populations and resources and issues, into a pot already boiling up similar issues plus those we can't even see - call it the partridge in a pear tree.
An economic understanding or treaty of some kind would be helpful, I believe - and may segue into something different in 100 years. Start small. Grow it if it works.