EU chief wants Canada as bloc’s first associate member

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she wants Canada to join the European Union as an associate member, as the North American nation is embroiled in a trade war with the U.S.

“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in attendance for her annual State of the Union address.

Attendees of the speech applauded her comments. Carney will address the European Parliament on Thursday in Strasbourg, France.

The European leader said the EU and Canada “see the world” similarly on issues such as artificial intelligence, climate and defending Ukraine, Reuters reported .

After meeting with von der Leyen and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the Canadian prime minister said Canada and the EU are “natural partners.”

The three leaders discussed the “work underway to deepen the Canada-European Union (EU) partnership in key areas, including critical minerals, energy, defence, research and development, and advanced technologies,” according to a release from Carney’s office.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is forging stronger relationships with trusted partners to build greater strategic autonomy, resilience, and sovereignty,” the release reads. “As a close, trusted partner with shared values, the Prime Minister underscored the EU’s central role in these efforts.”

Carney and President Trump have ramped up a trade war in recent weeks, with Ottawa matching the U.S.’s 50 percent tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of goods. The levies are impacting a variety of sectors, including steel, aluminum and certain foods.

Earlier this month, the prime minister said the era of Canada relying on Washington was “over,” indicating his country was seeking out new trade partners.

“Our plan, since I came into office, has been development and diversification,” the Canadian prime minister said in a video his office posted on YouTube. “Not denial, waiting to go back to some good old days, and not continued dependence.”

But Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party, criticized Carney for seeking closer ties with the EU. Poilievre said Sunday the move would amount to the nation becoming the “28th state” of the bloc.

“This is not about diversifying trade: we have had tariff-free trade with Europe for over a decade now,” the opposition leader wrote on the social platform X , asking whether EU policies on immigration and small businesses would apply to Canada.