Canada and the EU Launch Alliance for the Future at Montreal Summit

Canada and the European Union launched the Canada EU Alliance for the Future on Friday, October 30, 2026, on the second day of the Canada-EU summit meeting in Montreal. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the new alliance at the summit, covering strategic capabilities in critical minerals, energy, defence, advanced technologies and financial services.

The alliance reaches wider than those five areas. It covers trade and regulatory cooperation, digital, research and communications technologies, critical raw materials and energy, financial services and markets, security and preparedness, and people to people relations, according to Canadian Press reporting. The joint declaration said: "By strengthening economic ties, reducing shared vulnerabilities, and building resilient supply chains, Canada and the EU will be better equipped to address shared global challenges and support sustainable growth."

Not yet associate membership

Canada is not yet the first associate member of the EU. Carney said Canada is still working towards the deepest possible partnership, short of accession, with Canada becoming the EU's first associate member, and that the substance, scale and scope of that new form of membership would be determined in the coming months. At a press conference in Montreal, Carney said: "In the coming months, we will determine the full substance, scale, and scope of this new form of membership."

The alliance declaration is based on the principle of reciprocity in industrial sectors and is anchored in a more active foreign and security policy partnership, Canadian Press reported.

Trade, finance and research deals

Canada and the EU concluded negotiations on the Canada-EU Digital Trade Agreement and on an updated Competition Cooperation Agreement, the Prime Minister of Canada backgrounder said. The two sides also signed a treaty framework to allow the European Investment Bank to operate in Canada and potentially finance eligible projects across the critical minerals value chain, including exploration, mining, processing and recycling.

Canada is joining the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, has begun negotiations to deepen its participation in the Erasmus+ program, and will work toward participation in the next Horizon Europe program, the 10th Framework Programme for 2028 to 2034.

Ukraine, firefighting aircraft and helmets

Canada intends to participate in the EU's 90 billion euro Ukraine Support Loan, which would allow Ukraine to purchase military equipment from Canadian defence companies using EU funds, the backgrounder said.

Two industrial announcements came with the launch. The Government of Canada intends to provide up to 2.5 billion dollars in financing, delivered by Export Development Canada, to Alberta headquartered De Havilland to increase its aerial firefighting aircraft production capacity. Latvia is providing more than 44 million dollars to Montreal based Galvion to supply ballistic helmet systems to Latvia as part of funding from the EU's SAFE initiative, with a contract value of 27.8 million euros.