Inside Canada's EU Courtship

Canada should become the first associate member of the European Union.

The pivot is about finding countries Canada shares values with to create institutions and tech capabilities out of the reach of America's wrecking ball.

Up until World War II, Canadians could imagine themselves as Europeans located in North America. NAFTA completely transformed Canadian society and solidified the two countries' relationship.

Trump's comments about the 51st state touched something very emotional and sensitive regarding sovereignty. A Canadian official interpreted the 51st state comments as price discovery to test reactions.

The comments caused Mark Carney to go from 25 points down in the polls to winning overnight.

Canadians' old assumptions that geography and alliances automatically confer prosperity and security are no longer valid. Canada was attacked and needs to be on a war footing to deal with the trade war.

Carney's decision to escalate as a technocrat and centrist has marked him out as a leader of the Western allied movement standing up to Trump.

Carney knows European political elites like Macron, Merz, and Stubb from his past banking career.

A secretive Ottawa book club of political big beasts and captains of industry forms part of Carney's advisory world.

The sides are talking about jointly constructing data centers, cloud storage, and satellite networks beyond the reach of America's tech giants. Canada is pressing to join the EU's Erasmus study abroad program to create profound societal links.

Canada looks incredibly attractive to Europe due to raw materials, critical minerals, energy, and similar values.

The EU must ensure that creating a Canada-style deal doesn't create a precedent where member countries quit and demand the same benefits.

Polls show many Canadians would like to become closer to Europe and see themselves as more European than American. Voters worry about giving up sovereignty, accepting EU regulations, and exposure to Europe's immigration problems.

Detangling the U.S. and Canadian economies will cause pain on both sides because two-thirds of exports go to the U.S.

Canadian officials interpret the lack of defense from Congress as showing their problem is deeper than Trump. Canada feels it has to change fundamentally to address its exposed system, even if hoping for a new U.S. administration.