Some Canadian politicians and pundits have proposed forging closer ties with the European Union to offset Canada’s ailing relationship with the U.S. due to tariffs, but even a cursory look at the facts shows the grass is not always greener on the other side.
For starters, the E.U. is in an even worse situation when it comes to debt. As of early 2024, the average government debt in the E.U.’s eurozone countries rose to 88 per cent of their GDP, compared to Canada’s already high rate of 76.2 per cent debt-to-GDP. Some countries within the E.U. are heavily in debt, including Greece (163%), Italy (137%) and Belgium (108%).
In addition to financial issues, the E.U. is struggling with the refugee crisis. At the end of 2023, driven in part by those fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war, around 23% of the world’s refugee population lived in the E.U. This has placed considerable pressure on European countries, many of which are still grappling with how to handle the influx of migrants while addressing domestic concerns over mass migration.
Despite these challenges, Prime Minister Mark Carney recently visited Europe to discuss enhancing Canada’s trade and defence relationships with the U.K. and France.
A recent poll from Abacus Data even showed that 44% of Canadians support joining the European Union while only 34% are opposed to the idea.
The E.U. is a supranational organization formed in 1993 through the Maastricht Treaty in an effort to further integrate European countries with one another, a goal pursued by Europe since the end of World War 2. The E.U. currently consists of 27 member countries who have agreed to subject themselves to a common economic, monetary and foreign policy similar to that of a confederation.
While European countries joined the E.U. to gain benefits otherwise unavailable to them, Canada is already a G7 country with a highly developed economy. Also, the E.U. is plagued by internal problems that threaten the future of the supranational system, with the biggest cracks being made evident when the U.K. departed the union in 2020.
One key issue is the limited power of the European Parliament, the E.U.’s elected legislative body, which can only approve or reject laws proposed by the unelected European Commission. This centralized system of governance is a departure from Canada’s system, where in practice elected representatives have more control over legislation and not unelected bureaucrats.
The unelected European Commission is the sole body that is capable of proposing legislation for debate, while the European Parliament can only approve or deny legislation.
E.U. member countries also endeavour to unify their economic policies with one another while 20 member states who make up the Eurozone have gone beyond that to unify their monetary policy under a common currency, the euro.
The sharing of a common currency between E.U. members has been identified as the reason for the Eurozone crisis, as the weaker economies of Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain incurred massive government debts without the ability to devalue their currencies, nearly leading to a sovereign debt crisis.
This collection of countries known as the “PIIGS” required the International Monetary Fund and their fellow E.U. nations to provide them with a bailout package so that they could pay off their debts.
Overreaching unelected E.U. bureaucrats have also attempted to impose censorship laws on member states as well as companies operating within their boundaries. The controversial Digital Services Act, which critics claim will force social media platforms to engage in censorship of “hate speech” or unlawful content, has already been used to clamp down on the popular free speech platform X.
Critics argue that the vague nature of what constitutes “hate” leads to authorities cracking down on speech that ought to be permitted.
The E.U. has also been criticized for imposing policies that promote gender and diversity, equity and inclusion ideology on otherwise uninterested member nations.
In 2020, the E.U. passed the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, which seeks to consider the priorities of LGBTQ people through every aspect of the policy process. This has led to clashes and infringement procedures against member states, Hungary and Poland.
Another potential downside for Canada is that the E.U.’s internal policies, such as the popular Schengen zone for borderless travel, would offer no real benefit, as Canada does not share a land border with any E.U. country and already benefits from visa-free travel to Schengen area nations.
E.U. mismanagement and overreach have sparked the rise of Eurosceptic parties, including the Alternative for Germany. Yet the idea that Canada should join the E.U. still remains.
Most recently Prime Minister Mark Carney visited France and the United Kingdom where he met with French President Emmanual Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss deepening Canada’s trade and defence relationship with Europe.
Although no official effort for Canada to join the E.U. is underway, on Prime Minister Carney’s recent trip to Europe, he claimed that Canada was the “most European of non-European countries,” seeking to expand Canada’s relationship with the U.K. and the E.U.
Carney has also ordered Minister of Defence Bill Blair to review Canada’s contract to procure 88 F-35 fighter jets from the American defence contractor Lockheed Martin and look into alternative options, such as the JAS 39 Gripen, made by Sweden’s Saab AB.