I spent last weekend crossing half the globe with Prime Minister Mark Carney, to spend a few hours with European leaders in Yerevan, the stunning Armenian capital, before crossing all the way back to Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Mr. Carney was the first non-European leader to be invited to a meeting of the European Political Community, a grouping that brings together the 27 European Union member states with allies and neighbors, including Britain and Turkey, as well as aspiring members such as Ukraine and Albania.<\/p>\n
This meeting happens twice a year, and it\u2019s mostly a chance for the leaders to talk about pressing issues and harmonize their responses where they can. It plays a particularly significant role in coordinating Europe\u2019s support to Ukraine. Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, was in Yerevan, and one of the few tangible things Mr. Carney announced was that Canada would contribute $270 million toward a NATO-coordinated program to provide urgently needed, U.S.-made weaponry to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But Mr. Carney was really there to spend face-to-face time with European Union leaders as he tries to advance Canada\u2019s integration into the bloc\u2019s industrial and other policies. Both in Canada and in the E.U., the idea of Canada becoming a 28th member state is popular in polls; and while it is clear that membership is not going to happen because Canada is not in Europe, Mr. Carney and European leaders seem to want to make Canada something of an honorary member.<\/p>\n
[Read: Mark Carney Pulls Canada Closer to Europe as Both Struggle With Trump<\/a>]<\/p>\n Before I started my role as Canada bureau chief in August 2024, I led The New York Times\u2019s coverage of the European Union based in Brussels, so I have a particular interest in the budding love affair between my former and current beats.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I learned on the trip to Yerevan by speaking to the prime minister, as well as European officials.<\/p>\n Holding Hands Amid Chaos<\/p>\n Europeans are feeling the changes in the leadership of the United States deeply. Europe has vital trading ties with the United States and, through NATO, a fundamental defense dependence on it. The changes President Trump is bringing to these areas are leaving E.U. leaders anxious and bewildered \u2014 emotions many Canadians recognize from their own experiences.<\/p>\n E.U. leaders seem to want to hold Mr. Carney closer through this tumultuous phase. Several mentioned his now-famous Davos speech<\/a> as a turning point in their own understanding of the changes U.S. policies mean for the rest of the world.<\/p>\n Mr. Carney\u2019s presence in Yerevan was part of his \u201cmiddle power\u201d doctrine first laid out in Davos: the idea that powers like Canada and the European Union\u2019s members should come together to form a stabilizing force in global trade and foreign policy, amid the chaos created by the United States\u2019 changing role in the world it once led.<\/p>\n Mr. Carney played to his audience. \u201cIt\u2019s my strong personal view that the international order will be rebuilt, but it will be rebuilt out of Europe,\u201d he said, a statement sure to flatter the hosts.<\/p>\n Euro Speed Dating<\/p>\n In the 36 hours he spent in Yerevan, Mr. Carney met with a string of leaders in speed-dating fashion: He met with the top leaders of the three E.U. institutions and the heads of government of France, Spain, Italy and Ukraine. He also sat in a smaller group meeting about Ukraine, which included, among others, the British leader and Mr. Rutte of NATO.<\/p>\n Mr. Carney seemed cognizant of criticisms back home about his frequent travel. During his news conference on Monday, he thanked us for traveling with him on a weekend and also stressed that the trip had been an efficient use of his time. On Tuesday morning he was back in his office to announce the appointment of the new governor general.<\/p>\n [Read: For Canada\u2019s Ceremonial Head of State, a Symbol of Rights and the Rule of Law<\/a>]<\/p>\n Reality Check<\/p>\n Like so many of Mr. Carney\u2019s overseas efforts, the E.U. one was focused on boosting trade and securing financing deals.<\/p>\n Canada and the European Union have a trade agreement that eliminates most tariffs but is yet to be ratified by 10 of the 27 E.U. countries.<\/p>\n Last year Canada was the first non-E.U. country to join the bloc\u2019s industrial defense policy initiative, which will allow Canadian businesses access to European Union contracts.<\/p>\n The two sides have also launched what they are calling \u201ca new strategic partnership<\/a>,\u201d which is meant to lead to closer collaboration across the board and boost trade flows (the E.U. is Canada\u2019s second-largest trading partner when taken as a bloc).<\/p>\n The Europeans are eager for Canadian oil and gas, but energy exports require additional pipelines. This is a missed opportunity, as the bloc faces an energy crunch because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East<\/a>. Mr. Carney, asked about the inability to immediately boost energy exports to Europe, tried to reframe the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we sit down with Europeans, the first thing they raise is not energy,\u201d he said. \u201cYes, energy is part of it. But the framing of this is that the discussions between Canada and Europe start with energy and, no, that\u2019s just not the way it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n Apart from these limits to this relationship, it\u2019s also important to note that the European Union is itself a complex and troubled beast. It faces a major challenge in the war in Ukraine, and is rushing to scale up its ability to defend itself as the United States withdraws. E.U. economies continue to grow in a lopsided, out-of-sync way despite their deep integration. Canada still stands to gain from coming closer to Europe, but that will not lessen the need to look to Asia, where Mr. Carney has already started important conversations, to reach his goals of doubling non-U.S. trade by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n A special note<\/p>\n We want to take a moment to congratulate our colleague Stephanie Nolen, who graces this newsletter with her insightful reporting from time to time, for being named a finalist in the international reporting category of the Pulitzer Prize this week. Stephanie, a distinguished Canadian journalist living in Nova Scotia, has been covering global health for The Times since 2021. She was honored for her work tracking the devastating impact felt across the world by the cuts to U.S. humanitarian aid. You can read her nominated stories here<\/a><\/p>\n After 42 years of slavery, Josiah Henson escaped to Canada, where he wrote a memoir, founded a school and led others to freedom. But his home long bore the name \u201cUncle Tom,\u201d to the offense of many<\/a>, my colleague Ian Austen wrote, with photography by Ian Willms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The troubled Canadian painter Matthew Wong\u2019s star was on the rise when he died at 35 in 2019. His mother, Monita Wong, is making sure his work can still be seen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Some businesses advertising watch World Cup parties in Canada\u2019s two host cities are wary of running afoul of FIFA\u2019s trademark<\/a>, which protects advertising \u201cWorld Cup\u201d events, Vjosa Isai reported.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A hospital in Manitoba had to postpone a \u201climited number of elective surgeries\u201d after ants appeared there for the third time since 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A personal watercraft struck an adult gray whale<\/a> that had just breached off Vancouver. The driver was injured, and the whale appeared to be unharmed. The collision was caught on video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n More than a century after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the shipwreck wants to auction about 100 artifacts raised from the ocean floor<\/a> during the first recovery effort nearly 40 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n From The Athletic: Inside the Toronto Tempo\u2019s mad dash<\/a> to opening night; World Cup stadium guides for Toronto<\/a> and Vancouver<\/a>; in the Sabres-Canadiens playoff series, Rasmus Dahlin and Lane Hutson<\/a> are the real show; and why Patrick Corbin, the Blue Jays\u2019 unexpected starter, wanted a fresh start<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This section was compiled by Shawna Richer, the Canada editor at The Times.<\/p>\n How are we doing?<\/strong>\n
We\u2019re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n