Canada could join EU, French foreign minister says

Barrot’s Canada remark was not presented as a concrete policy proposal, but rather as part of a broader argument that the EU is emerging as a “third superpower” capable of balancing the rivalry between the United States and China.

Earlier on Tuesday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney while the pair were out running that he should “think about” joining the EU as well.

The comments come as European leaders push to strengthen the bloc’s geopolitical role amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and the U.S. war in the Middle East.

Barrot framed Europe as uniquely positioned to draw countries closer through its economic weight, democratic model and regulatory power. “Many countries around the world are willing to get closer to our union,” he said.

He also pointed to signs of renewed alignment with the United Kingdom, noting debates in London about closer ties to the single market, as well as deepening cooperation with countries like India and Switzerland.

Talk of Canada as a potential EU member has grown more common as the country struggles with an increasingly antagonistic relationship with the United States under Donald Trump, who early in his second presidency often talked about turning Canada into a “51st state.”