Prime Minister Mark Carney departs Ottawa on May 2, 2026, for Yerevan, Armenia, to attend the 8th European Political Community Summit. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Mark Carney is slated to deliver a speech at the European Parliament in France next month and will also attend the State of the European Union (EU) address as relations with the United States continue to deteriorate.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the media said Carney has accepted EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s invitation to address the assembly in Strasbourg, France. He is also scheduled to attend the Sept. 16 State of the EU address by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU Parliament.
A meeting with members of the European parliament is also on Carney’s agenda to “strengthen Canada’s ties with the European Union to the benefit of both our peoples,” his office said.
The PMO said Carney has made efforts to bolster Canada’s ties with Europe since he took office through the formation of the New European Union (EU)-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future and the Security and Defence Partnership, which are designed to promote increased cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, and energy.
Canada in February became the first non-European country to join the EU’s Security Action for Europe initiative, which the PMO said would unlock “billions of dollars in opportunities and market access for Canadian defence industries, businesses, and workers.”
Carney’s first official trips after becoming prime minister in March 2025 were to France and the United Kingdom. He said during his visit to France that Canada was the “most European of non-European countries.”
Carney’s latest trip to Europe is set just weeks after the United States imposed new 50 percent tariffs on US$20 billion (CA$28 billion) of Canadian products on Aug. 22 when trade talks broke down between Ottawa and Washington. Canada plans to retaliate with tariffs ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent on CA$27.6 billion worth of U.S. products beginning on Sept. 8. Washington has announced a further 50 percent tariff on Canadian autos and auto parts after Canada announced plans to impose counter-tariffs.
Conservative MP and Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman questioned why Carney is travelling to address the European Parliament while he hasn’t heeded Conservatives’ calls to recall the Canadian Parliament amid the trade row with the United States.
“Is this for real?” Lantsman said. “The Prime Minister of Canada says this country is ‘at war,’ then plans to fly to Strasbourg to address EU Parliamentarians while refusing to recall the Parliament of the country he claims is under attack where he represents the people who elected him.”
