EU and Canada launch 'Alliance for the Future', Canada joins €90bn Ukraine loan

Canada and the European Union sealed a new strategic partnership at a two-day summit in Montreal on Friday, Oct. 30, pledging deeper cooperation on critical minerals, artificial intelligence and digital trade while Canada committed €500 million ($558 million) to the EU's €90 billion ($103 billion) support loan for Ukraine.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa framed the alliance as a response to a deteriorating geopolitical environment, with both partners facing US tariffs and territorial threats since President Donald Trump's return to power. "The world's becoming more dangerous and divided. Our societies are being shaken by new storms," Carney told a press conference, mentioning eroding democratic norms and "the weaponization 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 added.

Von der Leyen described the tie-up as "not against anyone else, but for our common strength" and said Canada would be the EU's first "associate member" — a label Carney also adopted. Germany and a handful of other EU states successfully pushed to have the phrase removed from the joint summit statement, arguing it has no basis in EU treaties. Von der Leyen said the substance of the relationship would be defined in the coming months.

Under the governance framework, Carney will participate in an EU leaders summit in June. European commissioners and Canadian ministers will hold a separate meeting in the spring, Costa said.

The two sides also agreed that their partnership would form the nucleus of a broader "Alliance for the Future" open to additional partners, which Carney said "will focus on increasing our collective sovereignty and resilience in areas such as AI, energy, critical minerals, quantum, and beyond."

To kick off work, Brussels and Ottawa signed a digital trade deal and a separate pact allowing the European Investment Bank to back Canadian critical mineral projects.