Relations between Canada and the European Union (EU), and its predecessors, date back to the 1950s. Since then, they have grown from a primarily economic relationship, into a partnership including cooperation on trade, foreign policy, security, defence, energy, and science. The EU has described Canada as "global strategic partner" and a "trusted partner for Europe", and the EU is Canada's second-largest trading partner.
While the relations were historically less important than Canada's ties with the United States and the United Kingdom, they have deepened from the 1970s onwards and expanded further since the 1990s. This led to the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement, which has been provisionally applied since 2017 and is among the most far-reaching free trade agreements the EU has concluded with a third country. That same year, the Strategic Partnership Agreement, which broadened cooperation to include human rights, security, sustainable development, and justice, entered into force. Security and defence cooperation has become more important since the 2020s: Canada has participated in EU crisis-management missions, the Permanent Structured Cooperation, and the SAFE defence-procurement initiative as the first non-European country to do so. The two sides have also expanded cooperation on energy, climate, and research, including Canada's associate membership in the EU's Horizon Europe programme.
Amid global geopolitical tensions of the 2020s, the trade war between the US and Canada, as well as US threats to annex Canada, discussions about a possible Canadian accession to the European Union have emerged. This idea has seen growing public support in opinion polling. However, current leadership on both sides have rejected the prospects of full membership. Instead, in September 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to work together "on opening the door for [it to become] the first associate member" of the EU. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed this idea by calling for further "deep cooperation". Because the "associate membership" category does not officially exist under the EU treaties, it would first need to be legally defined and then ratified by all EU member states. Some political observers have interpreted the "associate membership" label as another term for much deeper cooperation without an actual intent to pursue the creation of any new official legal membership status. Areas that might be covered by such an alliance in the future could include cooperation on economic security, energy security, advanced manufacturing, critical minerals, defence production, AI and information technology, quantum computing, batteries, payments, the Arctic, space exploration, research, as well as easier mobility for workers and students, including Canadian membership in the Erasmus programme. However, as of 2026, talks regarding the specific framework of such closer ties are still at an early stage.
History Background
Canada's relationship with Europe is a result of the historical connections generated by colonialism and mass European immigration to Canada. In the Middle Ages, Canada was first colonized by Vikings on the shores of Baffin Island, along with those of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, centuries later in the Modern Age, it would be mainly colonized by France and, after 1763, it formally joined the British Empire after its conquest in the Seven Years' War. In addition, it also had colonial influence from Spain in British Columbia, as well as southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. As a consequence, today, many Canadians are native English and French speakers; both being European languages. In addition, several local provincial and federal government offices of Canada practice official bilingualism in these working languages.
Historically, Canada's relations with the UK and the United States were usually given priority over relations with continental Europe. Nevertheless, Canada had existing ties with European countries through the Western alliance during the Second World War, the United Nations, and NATO before the creation of the European Economic Community.
1958–1980s: Early relations
Relations between Canada and the European integration project began shortly after the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union. In 1958, Canada became the first non-member state to appoint an ambassador to the EEC. The following year, Canada and the Euratom signed the Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.
During the 1960s, Canada's trade and diplomatic relations remained primarily focused on the United States, while economic relations with the six-member European Community were comparatively limited.
The relationship became more important in the early 1970s when Canadian politicians wanted to diversify the country's economic ties following economic disruptions in the United States as well as their neighbor's introduction of a 10% import tariff. As a response, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau started moving towards a "Third Option" foreign policy by pledging to diversify trade and to strengthen ties with the European Economic Community. The accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities in 1973 further increased Canadian interest in strengthening its relations with Europe. In fact, more structured Canada–European Communities dialogue, including informal “semi-annual” or “high-level” meetings had already begun as early as 1972, though they were not consistently held twice per year. Many of the so-called “high-level” meetings were in practice conducted at the level of assistant deputy minister for Canada and deputy director-general of the European Commission. Efforts to negotiate preferential trade arrangements, however, were complicated by concerns among some European leaders regarding Canada's close economic integration with the United States. Since 1974, members of the Canadian Parliament and the European Parliament have met regularly.
Bilateral cooperation on the environment dates back to an exchange of letters in 1975, which identified areas of common interest and established a framework for periodic high-level consultations to review progress. High-level meetings under this framework have been held regularly since 1983. The European Commission established a diplomatic presence to Canada in 1976. In July of that year, the European Communities and Canada signed the Framework Agreement on Economic Co-operation, the first formal agreement of its kind between the European Communities and an industrialized third country. In this agreement both sides committed to expanding and diversifying their bilateral trade, and created the Joint Cooperation Committee that convenes at least annually as the primary common institutional body for overseeing implementation and further cooperation. However, this link did not lead to a wide area of specific programs of cooperation, but instead "withered away through mutual neglect". In 1979 Canada became a cooperating state of the European Space Agency. Despite general further approachment between the two allies during the 1970s, results remained relatively limited.
During the 1980s, cooperation remained steady but largely incremental, characterized by a “piecemeal approach” in which numerous small sectoral agreements were concluded alongside collaboration in multilateral institutions. In 1981, Canada and the EEC signed a Long-Term Fisheries Agreement to manage access to fish stocks and promote sustainable practices. Initiatives of the 1970s aiming for closer ties between Canada and the European Communities stalled after conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney took office following the 1984 Canadian federal election. Instead, the focus shifted towards negotiations with U.S. President Ronald Reagan that would ultimately lead to the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988 and the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, which increased Canadian dependence on the US. This move faced domestic Canadian opposition from critics concerned about American hegemony, with some protestors wearing pins stating "51st state: Mulroney for Governor". Due to the creation of the European single market, in the late 1980s and the 1990s Canadian companies started to increasingly invest in Europe to prevent being excluded from that market, which was considered a protectionist "Fortress Europe".
1990s–2000s: Expansion of cooperation With the end of the Cold War the idea of multilateralism gained in popularity. Thus, Canada and the European Communities expanded their cooperation beyond economic matters to also include foreign policy and international security issues. In 1990, European and Canadian leaders adopted a "Declaration on Transatlantic Relations", which established regular meetings at Summit and Ministerial level. However, the declaration itself remained vague regarding details of further cooperation.
In 1992, an international arbitral tribunal resolved a long-standing maritime boundary dispute between Canada and France regarding the exclusive economic zone surrounding Saint Pierre and Miquelon. In the mid-1990s, disputes between Canada and EU member states, especially Spain and Portugal, over North Atlantic turbot fishing escalated into the so-called Turbot War. Allegations of overfishing and quota violations led Canada to take strong actions, including firing warning shots at, and seizing Spanish vessels in international waters using patrol vessels. The confrontation ended with an agreement that favored Canada’s conservation goals, but it had a temporary negative impact on diplomatic relations with Spain and the EU.
At the 1996 Ottawa Summit, both sides adopted a Joint Political Declaration and Action Plan that identified new areas for cooperation. While the objective was to strengthen bilateral relations and the declaration touched upon areas like trade policy, environment, investment, competition, labor standards, and intellectual property rights, it did not include many details yet. Nonetheless, from then onwards Canada increasingly prioritised the EU in its foreign policy. This rapprochement included the 1996 Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, as well as agreements on customs cooperation and on sanitary measures for the protection of human and animal health in trade that were concluded in 1998. In 1999, both sides signed an agreement on the application of competition laws.
In 1999, leading business representatives established the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business (CERT), which became an important advocate of deeper economic integration and a comprehensive free trade agreement between Canada and the EU.
Since 2003, Canada has participated in 13 civilian and military missions of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Further sectoral cooperation followed in 2004 with an agreement on trade in alcoholic beverages, alongside the broader EU–Canada Partnership Agenda, which included provisions regarding the negotiation of a "trade and investment enhancement agreement" and the development of a "voluntary framework for regulatory cooperation". In 2005, both parties concluded an agreement establishing a framework for Canada’s participation in EU crisis management operations. The Agreement on civil aviation safety was signed in 2009.
2010s–2020s: Strategic partnership