According to a recent poll, four out of five Canadians want closer ties with the EU. Almost half would like their country to become a member of the EU. I have the feeling that Canadians understand something that Icelanders seem unwilling to grasp: if America leaves you out in the cold, you need to look for new allies in this turbulent world. If you do not, you become increasingly vulnerable to economic and military blackmail.
Canada was offered associate membership of the EU this week, but as far as I am concerned, Canada should become a full member. This country meets the criteria better than many of the current member states. It may not be a European country, but that did not stop the EU from opening accession negotiations with Turkey. The European part, Eastern Thrace, accounts for about three percent of Turkey’s total land area; the rest of Turkey lies in Asia.
With a little goodwill, Canada can be seen as being in a comparable position. Last year, the country ended the Whisky War with Denmark, a dispute over a tiny rock south of the Arctic Ocean called Hans Island, which was eventually divided between the two countries. As a result, Canada now shares a border with Denmark. I rest my case: where there is a will, there is a way.
The fact that Mark Carney became the first leader of a non-EU country to take part in a European State of the Union address is telling. He made a strong impression at Davos in Switzerland earlier this year when he lashed out at Trump. He is engaged in a tariff war with the United States, while Trump keeps insisting that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. I would be just as furious as the Canadians and would also be looking for new allies.
Carney’s call for an alliance of medium-sized democratic countries is also gaining increasing support. In a sense, such an alliance already exists in the form of the European Political Community (EPC). It was established on the initiative of French President Macron following the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. By now, 47 countries are taking part, with a combined population of almost 700 million. This year, Canada became the first non-European country to join.
The next step, as far as I am concerned, should be membership for Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Then Carney’s dream alliance would become a reality.
It would be the logical consequence of the geopolitical shifts currently taking place around the world. America is becoming increasingly isolated as a result of Trump’s misguided policies, the rise of China is viewed with apprehension, and none of these countries is willing to tolerate Russian aggression.
It would be interesting to link this to the proposal for an EU equivalent of Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which states that if a member country feels threatened, it can request consultations with its allies. Now that Trump has all but blown up NATO, von der Leyen wants something similar for the EU. She is asking the Canadians, the British, the Norwegians and the Ukrainians to join. Ultimately, this should result in a European Security Council.
In this way, the EU could become the core of a new form of geopolitical cooperation that provides a counterweight to America, China and Russia. That would be a remarkable development, but the question is which member states will once again throw a spanner in the works.
Source: Trouw, Rob de Wijk, 17 september 2026
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