MONTREAL -- A major summit Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting with European Union leaders is set to conclude Friday with announcements on digital trade and academic exchanges.
Carney welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa to the Canada-EU summit in Montreal on Thursday.
Carney, Von der Leyen and Costa all said Thursday they would like to see Canada become an “associate member” of the European Union, despite countries like Germany rejecting that term and Canadian officials initially avoiding that phrasing.
None of the leaders used the term “associate member” during welcoming remarks to the gathering on Friday. Instead, they said the goal is to bring Canada closer to the EU than any other non-European nation.
While these meetings have been happening for years, this one sees Canada and the EU scaling up their efforts to deepen their commercial and diplomatic relationship.
Costa said he expects to see an agreement on digital trade finalized Friday, and news on programs for scientific research partnerships and university student exchanges.
Costa added Thursday he wants to see greater labour mobility between Canada and Europe and easier student exchanges.
Culture Minister Marc Miller said Thursday any discussions of labour mobility in industries like film production would need to include the provinces, many of which have their own tax credits that promote local talent.
Miller has been meeting with his European counterparts at the summit. He has been talking about setting new regulations on promoting Canadian and European content on streaming services, along with new safeguards for children online.
“So two issues that are really important, and we’re not talking about the same exact rules potentially, but convergence and allyship with respect to large transnational companies that in some cases need to be regulated to protect kids or to promote our cultures in the face of overwhelming, monopolistic cultures, one of which is the United States, but others across the world,” Miller said in an interview.
Miller said officials are also looking at ways to increase the number of co-productions between Canada and Europe like the TV series Vikings, a Canadian-Irish co-production.
The minister said Canada already has co-production treaties with several European countries that allow pooling of tax credits to attract film and TV show productions.
Miller said he brought his EU counterparts to one of the promotional events for the documentary Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend, about Quebec Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He said part of the goal was to secure a theatrical release for the film in Europe.
Conservatives have criticized the summit, noting that nine of the 28 countries in the EU have yet to ratify a decade-old trade deal with Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2026.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
