By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-26 17:41:43 | Updated at 2026-09-26 10:57:15
1 month ago
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accepted an invitation to attend the State of the European Union speech, while tensions remain high between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.
The invitation to the Sept. 16 speech in Strasbourg, France, was extended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will deliver the address, a European Commission official told Politico. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Makes Massive Bet On AI’s Energy Boom)
The official said the invitation was extended “as a strong sign of the closeness of the EU and Canada, and to clearly signal the intention and ambition on both sides to upgrade our partnership.”
“In these challenging times, strengthening our relationships across the world is vital,” the official added.
Carney is also scheduled to give a speech to the European Parliament a day after von der Leyen’s address, Politico reported.
After meeting with Carney in June, von der Leyen described Canada as “truly the most European of the non-European countries.”
This comes as U.S.-Canada relations are on shaky ground following a breakdown of negotiations on a trade deal between the two nations earlier this month.
Carney said that the deal had “not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians” and blamed the U.S. for adding last-minute changes with terms that were “unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”
However, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer blamed Canada for refusing to finalize the trade deal under terms that had been mutually agreed upon earlier the same week.
“Despite the U.S. offer to Canada to receive the best treatment of any major exporter to our market, new demands and walk-backs of other commitments by Canada upended the careful balance reached in the past days,” Greer said. “This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the U.S.”
The deal was an attempt to get both sides to lower tariffs on Canadian aluminum, automobiles and steel, as well as on American dairy and lumber.
