Canada Signs Record-Breaking Deal with EU - And Carney Says It's Just the Beginning

24th June 2025

Carney Launches New Era of EU-Canada Partnership at Brussels Summit with Call for Unity, Defence, and Climate Action

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a wide-ranging and impactful speech at the EU-Canada Summit press conference in Brussels on 23 June 2025. Opening with his trademark humor.

Carney referenced the last time the EU met in the Arctic—his hometown of Iqaluit—during the 2010 G7 summit, reflecting on how the world has changed since the global sovereign debt crisis. He contrasted today's geopolitical threats and financial instability with the growing resilience and institutional strength of the European Union, which he praised for staying true to its values.

Carney’s remarks came shortly after Canada and the EU signed a historic Security and Defence Partnership, the most comprehensive agreement ever concluded between the Union and a non-European country. He framed this agreement as a cornerstone of a broader "strategic partnership for the future," encompassing defence, digital cooperation, climate goals, supply chain security, and economic resilience.

Highlighting the current "hinge moment in history," Carney urged democratic allies to reject nostalgia for a lost world order and instead unite to build a new one. He reaffirmed Canada's deep alignment with the EU’s values—democracy, sovereignty, and freedom—and its commitment to Ukraine. He announced that Canada will present new defence commitments at the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, with the aim of bolstering capabilities, accelerating defence investments, and enhancing joint research and innovation.

Carney closed by recalling Canada's long history of standing with Europe—from Vimy Ridge to climate cooperation—emphasizing that the new partnership is not only strategic but moral. “The world came to know the strength of our arms,” he said, “now it knows the strength of our values.”
Via: consilium.europa.eu