Why joining the EU would undermine Canada’s global autonomy

Joining the bloc would undermine Canada’s global autonomy precisely at a moment when independence and flexibility are strategic assets. Ottawa must deepen its partnership with the EU without joining it, while continuing to build partnerships abroad as an independent middle power.

Suzanne Innes-Stubb, left, her husband Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister Mark Carney, and his wife Diana Fox Carney run in Hyde Park, London, U.K., on March 17, 2026. Some European leaders, including Stubb, have also endorsed Canada’s formal integration into the EU. Photograph courtesy of X

Opinion

BY LUTHFI DHOFIER

April 27, 2026

VANCOUVER, B.C.—The idea is seductive. Confronted with an erratic Washington that continues to use tariffs as a weapon, Canadians are looking at the Atlantic and asking: what if we belong there?

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