Canada has to consider its options vis-a-vis America, and what it means for Canada to become either non-aligned or joining the EU. While joining the EU might well be problematic, as there are ten European nations still seeking membership, as well as they are part of Europe, — it still isn’t out of the question, as Canada, under NATO, unlike some of the European countries seeking membership, have never sent troops in its defence.
The other realistic option is for Canada to seek either alliance with the UK, or remain unaligned. In other words, have no agreements and limited trade with our contiguous neighbour, the U.S.
NATO, Sweden and Finland remained non-aligned for 75 years, in relation to the threat posed by Russia. Now that America is acting like Russia, it may well be in Canada’s interest to militarize Canada and to seek an arm’s length from America in relation to defence and commerce.
What might occur, however would be an increased level of cooperation and trade with Europe. The Director of the Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence at Dalhousie University suggests, More likely than full membership for Canada, Zaiotti said, is “an advanced form of cooperation.”
Michael Emerson of the Centre for European Studies in Brussels states that it could “take the form of a maximal deepening of the relationship on all accounts: political, economic, cultural and security. One could imagine a …losses multilateral grouping of the like-minded, without the U.S. Then, all democratic Europe, plus the rest of the non-U.S. OECD, might develop a collective diplomatic stance, asserting our model of an enlightened west.”
Norway, for example, is a member of the European Economic Area, a free trade bloc, without being a member of the EU. Other European nations are not part of the Schengen Agreement, which allows visa-free travel, or the Eurozone, which shares a currency and central bank.
Canada already participates in Horizon Europe, and Eu funded research grant program worth more than $140 billion, alongside other non-European states like New Zealand.
Ursula von der Leyen, the EU President in an article by John Last of CBC News (February 02, 2025) minced no words about the benefits for Europe. Canada is the “only country in the Western Hemisphere with all the raw materials required for lithium batteries, so I would say that this is a perfect match.”
Canada no longer trusts the U.S.
Trump has put an end to that. And while seeking to replace its biggest trading partner will not be easy, for Canadians, it’s worth finding a substitute.
More than half of Canadians can point toward Europe as the place their family came from. A return to a true collaboration, with the intent of EU membership in the future, may be Canada’s most rational option going forward.
Remaining dependent, in any way, economically, militarily, or even socially, with the United States is not in Canada’s interests.
In fact, it feels like a non-starter.
America is not Canada’s ally.
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