European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed opening the door for Canada to become the European Union's first "associate member", an unprecedented status that could deepen economic, technological and security ties without granting Ottawa full membership.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended von der Leyen's State of the Union address in Strasbourg, has said Canada is seeking a "unique alliance" with the EU rather than membership, as relations between Ottawa and Washington remain strained by trade disputes and repeated threats from U.S. President Donald Trump against Canadian sovereignty.
Von der Leyen said the EU and Canada would work toward a common prosperity and economic space, with cooperation covering manufacturing, technology, artificial intelligence, defence industrial integration, energy, critical minerals, the Arctic and economic security.
Both sides are seeking deeper cooperation as they respond to U.S. and Chinese economic dominance and concerns about the international rules-based order.
Von der Leyen said closer ties with Canada were intended to strengthen the partners rather than target another country.
Canada and the EU already have the CETA trade agreement, although several EU countries have yet to ratify it more than a decade after it was concluded.
Von der Leyen also proposed creating a European Security Council involving partners including Canada, Britain, Ukraine and Norway, while saying the EU would continue strengthening cooperation with NATO.
The EU's treaties do not currently provide for "associate membership", leaving major questions over how such a relationship could be established and what rights it would provide.
Any proposal would ultimately depend on EU member states, while creating a treaty-based status would require unanimity among all 27 capitals and domestic ratification.
Closer Canadian integration with the EU Single Market could also require Ottawa to align regulations with EU law, potentially leaving Canada bound by rules it had no vote in shaping.
The initiative is not expected to alter accession paths for European candidate countries, although special treatment for Canada could cause friction.
Germany previously proposed associate membership for Ukraine as an interim step toward full accession, an idea Kyiv described as "unfair" because it would not provide voting rights.