Carney Calls for Enhanced Cooperation with Europe on Critical Minerals and LNG
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, highlighting key areas of cooperation between Canada and Europe. He thanked President Ursula von der Leyen for her support of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and stated that Canada welcomes the opportunity to become an associate member of the EU.
Carney emphasized the importance of critical minerals, defense industrial capacity, AI and compute, energy security, space, and payments in securing strategic autonomy through deep cooperation. He noted that Canada has deposits of over 34 critical minerals and is among the top producers of the 10 most essential for the energy transition.
The Prime Minister also highlighted Canada's ability to contribute liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen at large scale to support Europe's energy security. Carney concluded by stating that a Canada-EU alliance would create a beacon for other democracies, based on freedom, solidarity, prosperity, and sustainability.
In his speech, Carney also mentioned the new European corporation on critical raw materials to obtain and stockpile materials needed for electric cars, chips, batteries, clean tech, and defense. He observed that this would help fill Europe's need for reliable supply and create opportunities for Canada's advanced processing capabilities.