Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday, speaking from the heart of the European Union, that his country and the EU are “stronger together” and that deeper cooperation between two regions with shared values will allow them to become a “beacon for other democracies” at a time when the international order is wobbling.

“We are not fair-weather allies. We do not pursue zero-sum deals. Our commitment to the rule of law, and our unyielding defense of human dignity, individual freedom, and democracy share the same deep roots, the same unwavering dedication,“ he said in an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. ”Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together.”

Although he was never named explicitly, U.S. President Donald Trump—and the tariff threats he voiced this Wednesday over a closer Ottawa-Brussels relationship—hung over the entire hemicycle. “Today, our societies are being shaken by new storms: the upheaval caused by climate change, the erosion of democratic norms, the weaponisation of trade,” said Carney, alluding to the tariff war started by Trump.

A day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used the same rostrum to propose making Canada the EU’s “first associate member,” Carney framed the alliance as not about self-sufficiency, but about collective resilience. “We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

Carney’s presence this week at the European Parliament plenary is another sign of the push for closer ties between the bloc and Canada, reinforced since the abrupt return of Trump to the White House upended the world order. There have been multiple gestures and nods toward a country that is also a NATO member and, like many European allies, under Washington’s scrutiny for its allegedly low defense spending.

Transatlantic sympathies intensified especially after Carney’s now-famous Davos Forum speech earlier this year, when, amid tensions over Trump’s expansionist appetite for Greenland, the Canadian prime minister spoke of the need for “middle powers” — a term that does not convince everyone in a European bloc of some 450 million inhabitants — to band together to present a united front against abusive powers.

It was in that context that Von der Leyen, in the address marking the start — and the pivot — of the political year, announced this Wednesday her intention to “open the door to Canada” so it could become the EU’s first “associate member.”

Although it is far from clear what that would mean, even to Brussels and to other European capitals —simply put, that status does not exist in the treaties— the proposal risks becoming a new fracture that would serve neither the EU nor Canada, and could complicate relations with a volatile United States under Trump.

Although Von der Leyen made sure, just before proposing the idea to Carney, to say that closer ties between the EU and Canada “are not an alliance against anyone,” in Washington the interpretation was precisely the opposite: hours after the European Commission president’s speech, the U.S. president again launched his favorite threat, vowing to impose “very serious tariffs” on the EU if that rapprochement with its northern neighbor went ahead, a neighbor with whom he is reengaging in a tariff showdown.

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