Canada’s finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, has called on the United Kingdom to “team up” with a nascent economic alliance between Canada and Europe.
He made the remarks in an interview with the BBC. The proposal, he said, is not about formal membership, but about building an “alliance of the future” grounded in shared values and interests.
“We need to look at partnership in a different way. When you look at Canada — and I would say the United Kingdom — we share the same values. We are very aligned in our vision of the world. Why don’t we team up? We are independent and sovereign, but we are stronger together,” Champagne said.
He added: “The world has changed. America has changed. So we need to change.” The comments come after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed “opening the door” to associate EU membership for Canada — a status that does not yet exist in the bloc’s treaties and whose details remain to be defined.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has previously spoken of an alliance of “middle powers” on economic growth, resilience and security. Canada is already deepening ties with the EU on defence, critical minerals, energy and research programmes. Ottawa sees the UK as a natural partner in that arrangement. London has not yet issued an official response to Champagne’s proposal.
