Defiant Carney brushes off Trump amid closer ties with EU

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday brushed off criticism from President Donald Trump of a proposal for Canada to become an associate member of the European Union, despite threats from Washington to ramp up tariffs on Ottawa if it did so.

Canada and the U.S. have been in a trade row since Trump's imposition of his "Liberation Day" tariffs last year. The two countries nearly clinched a trade deal earlier this year, but it fell apart at the last minute. Subsequent blame-trading ultimately saw Trump rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" in a symbolic jab.

Speaking to the European Parliament, Carney insisted that Canada would not change course amid pressure from Washington.

“This alliance is a positive process. That’s my response to the American president,” he said, according to Politico. “Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language to speak."

The process for joining the EU can take years, and the bloc currently has no associate members. Whether Carney can pull off Canadian accession remains to be seen.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.