Canada, EU launch new alliance with deals on Ukraine, minerals, AI

Canada, EU launch new alliance with deals on Ukraine, minerals, AI

MONTREAL: The EU and Canada announced an alliance on Friday aimed at cementing their own relations in the face of President Donald Trump’s moves to tear up US ties with its old partners. After a two-day summit in Montreal, the EU said Canada will join a 90 billion euro ($103bn) support loan for Ukraine and work closely with Brussels on anything from critical minerals to artificial intelligence. “The world’s becoming more dangerous and divided. Our societies are being shaken by new storms,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told a press conference, mentioning eroding democratic norms and “the weaponisation of trade”. “Together, Canada and the European Union are anchoring the ground. Anchoring our ground to uphold our values while forming a protective canopy under which our citizens can all thrive,” he said after talks with EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa. Already sharing a free trade agreement, Canada and the EU have sought to move closer together since Trump’s shock return to power. Both Canada and the EU have been hit with US tariffs and territorial threats. Ahead of the talks on Friday, Von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, said Canada could not become a “full-fledged” EU member due to its geographical location, but the bloc wanted to bring it “as close as possible”. Carney said Canada will join the EU’s 90bn euro support loan for Ukraine with an initial participation of 500 million euros. The announcement comes at a time when Brussels is looking for help to plug gaps in Kyiv’s finances. Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026