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Canada will decide on its own partnerships, Carney says

By Thomson Reuters Sep 17, 2026 | 6:02 AM

STRASBOURG, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Canada will decide for itself who it will ​strike deals with, Prime ‌Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday in response to U.S. President Trump’s criticism of ‌the ​proposed closer ⁠ties between the ⁠EU and Canada, including an EU proposal for Canada to become its first ​associate member.

“No one is going to dictate ⁠our culture or ⁠with whom we ​can strike agreements internationally,” Carney ​told reporters at the European ‌parliament in Strasbourg.

Carney said Canada could also be a more effective partner ⁠to the U.S. through a closer association with the EU, and ⁠said ‌the substance of ⁠any new relation ​would ‌be more important than ​the ⁠term that would be used for it.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Writing by Bart Meijer, Editing by Charlotte ​Van Campenhout)