Canada and European Union leaders meet in Montreal as Trump threatens Europe over Canada

Summary

Canada hosts European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Montreal on Thursday and Friday. It is the first full Canada-EU summit since Washington's 50% tariffs hit about $20 billion in Canadian goods in August. Former envoy Stéphane Dion, who spent eight years in the role, warns that an empty statement would be very depressing.

Trade talks with Washington collapsed on August 21, and Canada answered with dollar-for-dollar countertariffs from September 8, plus $7.5 billion for workers and businesses. Within weeks, von der Leyen offered Canada a path to becoming the EU's first associate member in Strasbourg, a term with no legal definition in the EU treaties. Trump called the idea laughable and said he would impose very heavy tariffs on Europe if it treated the offer as a hostile act.

A draft joint statement has been called bland, and it skips the awkward fact that nine EU member states still haven't ratified the trade deal, which has run provisionally since 2017. Canada's side stresses concrete results, pointing to Canada becoming the first non-European country in the EU's SAFE defence program. Dion proposes official observer status instead of associate membership, and the video notes that close to 70% of Canadian exports still go to the United States.

Key points

• Washington's 50% tariffs hit about $20 billion in Canadian goods in August.
• Canada matched with dollar-for-dollar countertariffs on September 8, plus $7.5B in worker support.
• Nine European Union states still haven't ratified CETA: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland.
• Canada-EU trade reached about $179 billion last year, while close to 70% of Canadian exports still go to the United States.
• Canada is the first non-European country in the EU's SAFE defence program.

Questions answered