Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to a historic day.
President von der Leyen, President Costa, on behalf of all Canadians, I’d like to thank you for your vision and your leadership – and to your commissioners and their teams for their focus and delivery.
We are here in Montréal, a city that, for centuries, has served as a bridge between Canada and Europe.
You hear it in its languages, you feel it in its cultures, and you can read it in its motto: Concordia Salus.
That spirit guided this Summit. Harmony in our values, in our interests, and in our purpose. In a world in turmoil, that harmony is a source of security, prosperity, and well-being for our peoples.
The world is becoming more dangerous and divided.
Our societies are being shaken by new storms: the upheaval caused by climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, the weaponisation of trade.
The multilateral institutions we used to rely on have become weaker.
It is now more difficult to reconcile sovereignty and openness. Economic integration has become a weapon, and tariffs, a means of exerting pressure.
At the same time, technology is transforming the nature of war, the structure of economies, and the ability of States to govern.
In Strasbourg, I said that a single tree will come down in this ferocious storm, but a forest will not.
Because beneath the forest floor, the roots of an oak intertwine with those of its neighbours, exchanging nutrients, adding strength to strength, creating a resilient, self-sustaining ecosystem.
That is the lesson we must learn from this moment.
Together, Canada and the European Union (EU) are anchoring our ground to uphold our values while forming a protective canopy under which our citizens can all thrive.
Today, the process we’re launching is about opportunity. Opportunity for our youth, our artists, our researchers, our businesses.
This is about democracy. Protecting against foreign interference and social media manipulation, while supporting human rights, freedom, and the rule of law.
This is about sustainability. Protecting our oceans, our forests, and our Arctic, while developing practical, scalable solutions to climate change.
Above all, this is about sovereignty. Our ability to live our lives as we wish.
Today, Canada and the EU are launching the Alliance for the Future – a new partnership of nations that will leverage our strategic capabilities and a variable geometry of like-minded nations to address common issues. This Alliance will focus on increasing our collective sovereignty and resilience in areas such as AI, energy, critical minerals, quantum, and beyond.
In parallel, and at the foundation, we are working toward the deepest possible partnership, short of accession – because of our geography – with Canada becoming the first Associate Member of the EU.
Over the coming months, we will determine the full substance, scale, and scope of this new form of membership.
The presidents and I will meet periodically to track progress.
In March, we will convene the EU’s College of Commissioners and our federal Cabinet in Canada, to advance this work.
And, in June, I have accepted President Costa’s invitation to attend the European Council meetings, where we intend to conclude these negotiations.
I want to spend a few moments if I may to explain what this means for Canadians – and in parallel, for Europeans.
It means more opportunity, greater affordability, and deeper sovereignty.
Canada being an Associate Member of the EU creates opportunity that starts with our young people.
We will begin negotiations to expand our participation in ERASMUS+, Europe’s world-renowned student and skills exchange program.
Through this program, a Canadian student can pursue their studies in Barcelona just as easily as they could at McGill. It means an apprentice welder in Manitoba could complete their placement with an employer in Italy, bringing new skills home.
For our researchers, it means access to JUPITER, one of the most powerful supercomputers ever built. A computation that would take six months on Canada’s largest research supercomputer, JUPITER can finish in a day. For a cancer researcher, that means an answer tomorrow instead of next spring.
Canada will launch negotiations with a view to joining the next Horizon Europe.
This will allow our researchers to pool resources, collaborate on cutting-edge technologies, and draw on Canadian and European world-class research institutes and universities. By pooling our resources, we bring together more talent. And we pave the way for more discoveries.
For our entrepreneurs, the Digital Trade Agreement that you just saw signed, combined with seamless payments, will make it easier to sell online in Europe. So a business owner in Manitoba or a lobster harvester in Prince Edward Island will clear customs faster – getting their products to new European markets. A tech startup in Vancouver will have a smoother path to customers in Berlin.
Bottomline: Less red tape, more growth, more opportunity.
Second, affordability.
This Alliance will allow us to connect our financial infrastructure directly with Europe’s fast-payment systems.
Transactions that once required weeks of waiting and duplicative paperwork will move in a matter of minutes.
We have also concluded negotiations for a new Canada-EU Competition Agreement, which will promote competition in sectors from consumer goods to technology, while cracking down on anti-competitive practices online.
We will explore opening our markets to each other’s banks, insurers, and fintechs. More competition means better, more affordable service for families.
Most fundamentally, all Canadians will benefit from more ready access to a wide range of European goods and services.
Third, today is about sovereignty.
We are building the industries and infrastructure that underwrite our collective security.
In March, Canada became the first non-European country to join the SAFE initiative. Right here in Montréal, Canadian workers at Marconi and Galvion are manufacturing military equipment for our Allies in Poland and Latvia.
The GlobalEye is made here, as part of a partnership between Saab and Bombardier, supporting 3,000 Canadian jobs.
And that is just the beginning.
It goes in the other direction, of course. Europe is already buying Canadian waterbombers. And as part of this agreement, Canada is backstopping a significant increase in waterbomber production.
De Havilland will soon open a second production line in Wheatland County, Alberta. The company will significantly increase production of this world-class aircraft to help Canadians and Europeans fight increasingly devastating wildfires.
Canada is already establishing itself as an energy supplier of choice for Europe. Thanks to new supply arrangements between Ksi Lisims, SEFE, and Uniper, British Columbia’s low-carbon LNG will power homes and industries in Germany.
Through our new Alliance, Canada is launching negotiations to join GALILEO, Europe’s positioning, navigation, and timing system. This will strengthen the reliability of GPS services across Canada, including in the Arctic. It will build our resilience with our most trusted partner.
We are deepening cooperation on semiconductors.
We’re taking the first steps toward new transatlantic – and potentially trans-Arctic – data cables.
The point is: we are leveraging and complementing each other’s strengths, building our resilience, creating more choice, and ensuring we are not beholden to others.
We are building a Transatlantic Arch between Canada and the EU.
An arch built on partnership, balance, and mutual respect.
And like every great arch, its strength comes from the support each side provides the other.
The more we use it, the stronger it becomes.
The stronger it becomes, the more opportunities it creates and the better all our lives become.
This Alliance is built for people.
The student in Edmonton who wants to study in Stockholm.
The cancer researcher in Saskatoon who needs her answer tomorrow, not next spring.
The Vancouver startup with new customers in Berlin.
Sovereignty for all our citizens.
Sovereignty that gives us more choice.
The freedom to live our lives as we choose, on our own terms.
The ambition to build a better, more prosperous world for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.
Today, we move toward Associate Membership for Canada, and we launch a new Alliance for the Future that will deliver now and in the future, with likeminded nations.
And we’re just getting started.