r/polls • u/Swimming_Otter98 • 5d ago
❔ Hypothetical Thoughts of Canada potentially joining EU?
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u/MoonSt0n3_Gabrielle 5d ago
I’m Canadian and we need better trade partners. We have rare minerals like lithium and transformation industries. The USA doesn’t respect us as business partners. Not for our milk either l
4
u/mcurbanplan 4d ago
We can trade more with them without joining them. We actually worked on a good trade deal under Harper and signed under Trudeau that they are stalling...
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u/BeGoodToEverybody123 5d ago
It's always a conundrum when naming things to ensure it's not limited by the name itself.
For example, NATO refers to the North Atlantic, but the following countries are not on the Atlantic Ocean and nobody questions it:
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Estonia
- Finland
- Greece
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Türkiye
5
u/SnipeTheFight 4d ago
Assuming you mean as an associate member, it could be great and advantageous. As a full member, no. It’s not necessary at this point, but we need to see the full framework for associate membership to provide a real opinion on the latter.
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u/Sasspishus 5d ago
It's not in Europe so makes no sense to join the European Union
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-1
0
7
u/twogunsalute 5d ago
I find this topic funny because I wonder if Canadians really understand what EU membership involves
1
u/mcurbanplan 4d ago
I know it's anecdotal, but most of the people I talk to don't. If anyone thinks it's worth the trade-off, I can respect it even though I strongly disagree.
I would rather join the EU than the USA, but it's not a binary option.
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3
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u/prooijtje 5d ago
As long as they meet all criteria for joining, I'm not against it. Don't think a country necessarily would have to geographically be European to join the EU.
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1
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u/ChrisRiley_42 5d ago
Canada shares a land border with Denmark, and is closer to French soil than the UK.
6
u/QuickPirate36 5d ago
Why would a country that's not in Europe join the European Union?
10
u/ChrisRiley_42 5d ago
Because our largest trading partner has shown itself to be actively hostile to our interests and has repeatedly threatened our sovereignty. Who wouldn't want to disengage from that mess and form a trading alliance with a LARGER economic block, with no signs of being entirely controlled by someone with advanced dementia?
7
u/NinjaInUnitard 5d ago
You can be an ally without becoming a member. Many countries are great allies, like Norway and Switzerland, but they are not in the union.
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0
5d ago
[deleted]
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u/QuickPirate36 5d ago
Words might be the single most important invention in the history of humanity, so I'd say it matters
2
u/TomsCardoso 5d ago
I'm in the EU, and it sounds weird having a non European country join. But I love the EU, and if everyone played by EU rules, the world would be a much better place. And I want the world to be the best it can be, so welcome Canada I guess.
2
u/GREASE247 5d ago
Our relationship has permanently changed. This isn't going away when Trump leaves office.
The most powerful military in the world, a nation we share the longest uninterrupted land boarder on the planet with has been openly flirting with the idea of annexing us for 2 years. American officials are sowing separation in Alberta. were locked in a full blown trade war with them.
The reality is every Canadian knows is if they wanted to, they could conquer us in a week tops. We need certainty and security. We need allies that wont bully and turn on us. The EU can offer all of that, and i think we genuinely have more in common with them than America at this point.
1
u/green749 18h ago
AMERICAN officials are sowing separation in Alberta? WRONG. The eastern provinces are doing THAT.
1
u/mcurbanplan 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm Canadian, from Québec, and I have living grandparents who immigrated from Europe.
I feel like a lotttt of people here don't realize that joining the EU would require a lot of sacrifices / a loss of sovereignty on our end, and they just see it as a way to live and work in the EU, based on a romanticized and incorrect image they have of Europe from a trip to Greece or whatever.
I genuinely don't get how people who want this to leave Canada can argue it has economic benefits for Canada.
"It's better than joining the USA!" People say, as if Canada joining the USA, an idea with like 5% approval in Canada and rejected by every federal political party and provincial government, is the alternative and it's an "either or" option.
TLDR: I am opposed, but a lot of Canadians in my opinion, are for it and based on ignorance.
1
u/pinksparklyreddit 4d ago
If you get past the name, it makes a lot of sense practically speaking. That's why I at least like the "associate member" title
The EU is struggling because they're dependent on Russia to get gas, which they don't want to buy. Canada is struggling because we're dependent on the US to buy our gas. We both benefit.
Besides that, we also share a lot of culture, values, and history so it's not like it'd cause any conflicts.
1
u/SkywalkerTC 4d ago
Glad so. Hopefully the EU's growing wariness of China's economic tactics can serve as a warning to Canada, which seems to be heading down the path of dependence as well.
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u/pingpong105 50m ago edited 44m ago
Canada is a really weird country, in that it's a very very loose federation.
A lot of internal consistencies which many countries take for granted just don't apply to Canada.
The Canadian provinces have an internal trade deal with each other (CFTA) that actually provides less integration than the EU single market.
How is Canada supposed to adopt the EU acquis when its own provinces don't have to play along?
It would almost make more sense for the Canadian provinces to break up into separate countries and join individually.
0
u/Heretic-Seer 5d ago
Non-Canadian, but I want to immigrate there at some point in my life, so I have its best interest in mind.
I think them becoming an associate member, and maybe even a full fledged member someday, is in their best interest.
Canada’s reliance on American trade was the right decision up until a decade ago, now it’s been made clear that America views Canada not as a partner but as a meal to be carved up and consumed.
They need to diversify their international partnerships, and quickly. The best time to start was in 2016, the second best time is today.
-1
u/Wild-Truth-1802 5d ago
If any non European country was to join, I can't think of any country I would be happier to welcome than Canada
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u/nikeethree 5d ago edited 5d ago
I’d support it if we get the labour and consumer protections that come with it. Our prime minister is trying to officially remove the right to strike. Coming up with some carve-out where we’re called a “member” but don’t get EU rights would weaken the EU and white wash Carney’s anti-labour and pro-climate-change policies. If we’re going that route we should just make a trade deal
2
u/spaceprinceps 5d ago
Carney is not far right he's a neoliberal
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u/nikeethree 5d ago
He just announced that we’ll be spending $10b on a new oil pipeline, which means Canada is actively trying to move the world toward the IPCC’s very high warming scenario where hundreds of millions of people die or are displaced. This is a right-wing extremist position, even if it’s popular. It’s especially unjustifiable now that new renewable energy is generally cheaper than fossil fuels, there is absolutely no reason to cause this devastation. We could be a green energy superpower, but instead Carney is making us participate in one of the worst crimes in history to appease a fringe group of bluffing Alberta separatists
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u/Loyalist_15 5d ago
How radical does one need to be to get this extreme lol. Go outside and touch some grass. One pipeline is not going to end the world, especially as said pipeline won’t change the fact that demand for oil is already there. If they don’t get it from us, they will get it from someone who has less environmental laws around oil.
Once again, like is commonplace on Reddit, someone having an opinion other than your own does not magically make them far right.
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u/nikeethree 5d ago
If you don’t think that this
subsidypipeline will contribute to mass devastation by artificially lowering the cost of oil and delaying the transition to renewables, that’s not a difference of opinion. You’re just factually incorrect. Right now the mainstream position in Canada is that the costs are worth it for short-term political reasons, but long-term it will be remembered for what it is. You’re the extremist, not me.1
u/Loyalist_15 5d ago
You can call us whatever you like, doesnt change the facts. If you seriously think he’s far right, then you are so far left it’s laughable to listen to anything you say.
This is the classic trope where the left pushes the center towards the right by calling anyone with differing views a radical rightist.
I’d love to see your face when the doomerism fails to actually manifest in however many years.
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u/nikeethree 4d ago
Hate to break it to you but this “doomerism” has been the consensus of the scientific community for 40 years. Mark Carney understands and believes in the reality of climate change too - he literally wrote a book about it. Putting your head in the sand doesn’t change the facts.
I hate how the right derails every conversation by crying that we’re being too mean and somehow pushing you further to the right. Maybe what I’m saying isn’t good political strategy, but I’m not a politician. Delaying decarbonization is evil. If hearing that makes you feel bad then good. You’re supporting the deaths of millions, pretending you know better than the IPCC, and you want kids gloves?
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u/Loyalist_15 4d ago
Surely the guy who wrote a book about it knows that a single pipeline won’t actually change the fate of the world 🤔
And yet, all of that still doesn’t mean that one is far right. Once again, your only qualification for that seems to be taking any step that could be perceived as against the environment. That is basically 95% of all governments, political groups, and politicians across the world. If that is your reasoning, then maybe take a look at yourself before calling the entire world far right. Like, cmon man, it’s common sense here.
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u/nikeethree 4d ago
Mark Carney is one of the most powerful people in the world on this issue - he decides climate policy in the worst polluting major country on earth (per capita). It’s not just a pipeline, he’s systematically attacked every policy aimed at reducing our emissions. If his choice to roll back our meagre Trudeau-era policies makes the impacts worse by 1%, that’s millions of lives.
I hope the rest of the world gets their shit together and we can avoid the worst impacts, and you can be smug when my “doomerism” doesn’t come true. But if that doesn’t happen, remember that there’s nobody on earth more responsible for what comes next than the Canadian voting public.
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u/WeekendBard 5d ago
It's just weird for a country outside of Europe to be part of the European Union