Prime Minister Mark Carney’s message in his September 17th speech in Strasbourg was not just that Canada and Europe need to find a new path, but that it is one we will build together, and which others can join as the world moves forward, writes Mark Camilleri:

Complementarity is about mutual necessity and not equality of size (i.e., a partner in substance need not be of comparable size). The goal is to ensure that neither side can simply dictate terms to the other, and together, build resilience against being dictated to by others.

So, what are the areas of complementarity? Looking at Carney’s Strasbourg speech, six stand out:

  • Raw Materials. Canada holds deposits of key critical minerals. An alliance would help meet Europe’s demand for these minerals and Canada’s need for advanced processing capabilities, while building out complete value chains.
  • Energy. Canada could provide Europe with LNG and hydrogen while Europe can help supply clean energy technologies.
  • Digital & AI. Canada and the EU can pool sovereign compute capacity and work together on AI safety protocols and common standards.
  • People to People. The Prime Minister called for greater mobility, especially for young people to live, work and study across the Atlantic. This work is already in progress with Canada’s association with Horizon Europe and early talks for Canada to join Erasmus.
  • Security and Defence. Although Canada’s defence industry already has preferential access to EU joint procurement through SAFE (based on the Canada-EU Security and Defence Partnership), Carney listed defence industrial capacity as an area for deeper cooperation.
  • Financial Services. Carney’s call to explore an integrated Canada-EU market for financial services is a potentially significant element, not surprising given the Prime Minister’s former roles as a central banker in both Canada and the United Kingdom. For Carney, it would broaden consumer choice and lower the cost of capital while preserving financial resilience.

Read Mark Camilleri’s article in Policy Magazine.