EU-Canada summit opens in Montreal on 29 October as Carney aims to launch formal talks on a deeper partnership

Canada will host the European Union’s two top officials in Montreal on 29 and 30 October for the 21st EU-Canada summit, an event Prime Minister Mark Carney says will start formal negotiations on a much closer partnership between Ottawa and Brussels.

The Council of the EU said European Council President António Costa will travel to Montreal for the summit and will represent the Union together with the Commission president. Canada’s Prime Minister’s Office, in a release dated 25 October, said Carney will meet Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and described the goal as turning the vision of a new alliance into action.

What Canada says the summit is for

According to the Canadian government’s announcement, the talks are meant to deliver concrete benefits: more choice and lower costs for consumers, new export markets for businesses, and more opportunities for young people to live, work and study on either side of the Atlantic. Ottawa points to the EU’s market size, research and manufacturing strength, and to Canada’s energy, critical minerals, space, artificial intelligence and quantum capabilities.

The Prime Minister’s Office also lists the steps taken since the last summit, held in Brussels on 23 June 2025. In February 2026 Canada became the first non-European country to join the EU’s SAFE defence initiative; in May Carney took part in the European Political Community summit in Armenia; and in September he addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg and proposed a deeper, more integrated partnership. The release puts EU-Canada trade in goods and services at about C$178 billion in 2025.

Formal negotiations, an unclear label

Speaking ahead of the summit, Carney said the meeting would launch a further round of formal negotiations over the next year, according to The Canadian Press. He played down the question of what the arrangement should be called. In September Geopolitiki covered Carney reportedly explores ‘associate’ EU status for Canada; the Canadian Press now notes that von der Leyen used the word “associate” while Canadian officials have downplayed it, and that the EU has no such category in its treaties.

Topics reported for the agenda include energy and critical minerals, among them natural gas, hydrogen and nuclear power, joint stockpiling of minerals and refining and shipping infrastructure to reduce dependence on China, as well as technology, defence and clean energy. Canada is also discussing labour mobility in specialised areas, rather than free movement, and possible participation in the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange programme, which has not been confirmed. A draft joint statement seen by The Canadian Press covers digital security, critical resources and water bombers; its full text has not been published.

CETA and the Greek and Cypriot position

The summit falls ten years after the signing of the EU-Canada trade agreement CETA, which the Canadian Press says is still not fully ratified. It lists nine EU members that have yet to ratify it: France, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Hungary. Canada’s ambassador in Brussels, Jonathan Wilkinson, told the agency there is momentum but named no country. Neither Athens nor Nicosia has announced a change of position in the sources read for this article.

The Canadian Press also reports a domestic dispute: Quebec’s premier says Ottawa refused his request to speak at the summit, while Carney says he declined an invitation to a dinner with European officials and that Ottawa held three consultation sessions with the province.

No outcomes have been announced yet. The summit begins on Thursday 29 October, and the joint statement is expected to show how far both sides are prepared to go.