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5d ago

Half of Canadians favour joining the EU

www.canadianaffairs.news Half of Canadians favour joining the EU

In a year of surging patriotism, Canadians show a surprising interest in deepening Canada's integration with the European Union

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In the Abacus poll, 46 per cent of respondents said they would support Canada becoming a member state of the EU, and 44 per cent said the Canadian government should definitely or probably look into joining it.

Europe @europe.pub

Half of Canadians favour joining the EU

www.canadianaffairs.news /2025/06/30/eu-canada-summit-canadians-favour-joining-the-eu/

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117 comments

I mean if Cyprus and French Guiana can join so can Canada if we can meet the requirements. It’s a political alliance of values.
- French Guiana is only part of the EU because it's part of France, and even then it needs plenty of exceptions to make it work.
  Cyprus was already aligned with the rest of Europe in economic laws.
  Canada would need to redo half of its laws to join the EU, and Canadian companies would either need to produce two versions of everything or drop the US market altogether.
  It's more realistic to aim for a close bilateral treaty than for membership, at least for next few decades.
  
  Yeah, but it's a nice dream.
  
  Yeah, these opinion polls really should be more taken as a desire to move closer (as the article says). I doubt the people voting actually know everything that joining the EU would entail, but it's still valid as a general "getting closer to the EU".
  
  Yeah some kind of common wealth
- But then we would share two borders with the USA :/
  
  That would be the first step in claiming back what once was ours ;)
  
  The European Union could help safeguard those borders.
- How is Cyprus controversial as an EU member? Because it's far enough to technically be Asia? Still very much European values, language, history etc. It's also only a stone's throw away from the nearest Greek island
  
  Tax heaven (together with Ireland)
  Part of the island occupied by Turkiye
  
  Some people claim that “a country cannot join if they’re outside the continent”
- I mean french guiana is literally a part of france. Its an overseas territory so its handled as an island or whatever not a colony. The most disgusting thing isnt that canada is in north america but that the eu would need to border the usa...
  
  I mean poor Norway, Finland, Poland and The Baltics already have to deal with Russia.
  
  I would see a northern wall in the future if this happened. I could honestly see it even if it never happened, the US doesn't trust Canadian or EU immigration policy.
- In what way is Cyprus comparable to Canada?

I hope they get to join. Meanwhile, here in the UK, we are further along the Trump path.
- Its almost like watching one of those animations of how pangea split into the different continents watching countries seperate and re-form - but politically instead, bringing some countries together and others splitting away.
  
  Don’t tell the Republicans that. They think the planet is only 2025 years old

It’s been a movement here for over a decade now, surprised support is so low

I love these "nearly half" declarations of support the media likes to gin up.
So..."less than half", then?
- It's more about the trend. Last year almost no one thought it would be a good idea. So the implications is "shortly more than half might want to join the EU" or "Canadians are approaching the majority threshold"
  
  That's a very fair point.
- It's also a bit useless to just give the one number and not the complete results.
  This could mean 46% in favor, 15% neutral / undecided, 39% against, which would put the overall sentiment in favor of joining, or it could be 46% in favor, 54% against, which is a completely different situation.
  --- edit --- Just re-read the article, I have missed the numbers, sorry.
  So it's 46% pro, 29% against, which puts the sentiment clearly to pro....
- Well, you are not wrong. But if you think about it it's still a pretty significant percentage considering Canada is one ocean distant from Europe, and has always had historically relations, economically and politically with the USA, obviously given the fact they share their only border with them. So in my opinion the number gets more weight, maybe. Probably some years ago it was much lower, or they didnt asked themselves the question at all.
- the glass is half flempty

Just half?

I welcome the Canadians into the European Union!
Is what I would say, but I really, really, REALLY don’t want a border with the US. Russia alone is bad enough.
- The US already has military installations all over Europe. It wouldn't change much.

Okay not a direct comparison but if I was playing a Paradox grand strategy game and the neighbor country started getting all fascist / authoritarian, I would want to group with like minded nations for protection. Hey we're already in a defense treaty with them why not make it a more inclusive type agreement? Personally I always felt culturally closer to the UK (yes I know not there anymore) than the US and thought many of our policies mirrored the US due to location and held us back.
- if we see the EU and US as two polar opposites I would see the UK as the intermediary for the EU, and Canada be the intermediary for the USA. Realistically though the UK is much more pro-USA than Canada currently. Starmer is so scared of getting the UK back into the trajectory of EU membership, that he actively hurts the UK relations to the EU AND the USA by not picking a side. We don't want the UK as a backdoor for the US to influence our politics again, we want a self-relying and souvereign United Kingdom back. Charles De Gaulle warned us in the 1960's that a english membership would for the most part represent the interests of the americans on european soil. And with Starmer, we are seeing exactly what De Gaulle warned Europe about. So yes, we would love to take the UK back, but not as a puppet state. We already have Hungary and Slovakia being puppeteered by the cunt called Putin that we need to worry about and act upon. Currently I see canadians more as europeans than I see british people
  
  Well I was more just meaning when I was growing up and this is going back to the late 80s - 90s. I saw a lot more British television than other European TV (in fact none of other) so didn't exactly have much else to compare it to in the EU that was. From that and knowing they offered some good services such as post secondary education, healthcare etc it felt like a nicer fit for my ideas. Plus the amount of British words we tended to use.

As an American, I endorse the idea. It would make it harder for Canada to be attacked, or worse, destroyed by Dogey America. Plus, it would allow the Free States of America to have a potential ally or trading party, better means for non-coms to flee from the conflict, and so forth.
It also works out for Canada, since that means having stronger trade connections with Europe. Considering that Dogey America is going to be an annoying prick and no longer a viable partner, having a solid trade network would help keep Canada prosperous.

Not sure how that would work since they aren't on European continent, but then I remembered we have Australia in Eurovision so I'll allow it. Just because Canadians are cool.
- The EU is already in the Caribbean and South America, might as well be in north too.
  
  "Its all Europe?"
  🔫👨‍🚀
  "Always has been"
- For example the canary Islands are also not on the European continent.

Go for it Canada and the EU should send an invitation. Perhaps they should start with EEC membership and later receive full membership. MAGA would shit and f-them.

I for once welcome our Canadian friends wholeheartedly!

....and the other half are Quebecois
- is this true?
  
  Only by comical historic actions.
  
  Pas vraiment...
  Vive la Nouvelle France!

I believe it will be a positive alliance for both Canada and the EU. Canadians are welcome!

Let's start with Schengen zone membership and see how we feel after that. The currency would be a hard sell.
- Maybe an EU adjacent status like Norway would be sufficient. But yeah, probably best to just wait and see. I'd appreciate closer cultural ties too. More sustainable basis for a long-term partnership than just business stuff.
- The UK was previously a member of the EU without ever having adopted the Euro.
  
  True, but all new members sign an agreement that they will eventually join the eurozone. It's not enforced and there is no pressure to do so, but on paper they agree to it.
  
  The UK had special dispensation as a founding member of the EU; if they were to return to the EU today, they would have to give up the pound

Full circle

Just a step on the inevitable road to one world polity. We should really be working out a roadmap to a world where everyone is a citizen of a worldstate with freedom to move, travel and trade freely regardless of where they were born. Basic rights should be protected everywhere by global enforcement, Borders should be administrative niceties and people should be free to migrate to areas which reflect their social and religious preferences in a global freemarket of societies where the most beneficial policies result in people voting with their feet.
- My personal prediction is (if we manage to make it that far) that the world will first start coalescing into supranational states such as the EU and African Union, after which these states will merge into a international superstate. Idk what timeframe this would be in, certainly not within our lifetimes, and who knows what kind of shape they will take on, but I feel like it's inevitable.
  Another thing I was thinking off is that probably all of the world's cultures and languages will merge into one. The reason they exist at all is because of the fact that communication and travel was extremely difficult on any sort of distance thousands of years ago. With the advent of the Internet and faster travel methods, I feel like its only a matter of time before all of the world's cultures melt into each other. I'm sure there would still be minor regional differences, but it's probably gonna be much more uniform than today.

honestly anything but being close to the us. it's bad enough they share a border.
- Yeah but canucks in the EU means Europe now has a border with the US which raises concerns also

Step 1: Be USAmerican, non rabid Trump sycophant/cult member variant.
Step 2: Attempt to gain legal residency in Canada
Step 3: ¿?¿??¿¿??¿?
Step 4: I am now European.
- I would like the option. Being an American citizen is now like not unlike a soiled piece of toilet paper: Unpleasant and not worth keeping. After all, Project 2025's backers don't give a damn about citizenship or American society.
  
  Ok here's the plan:
  Move to Minnesota.
  Canada joins the EU.
  Minnesota joins Canada.
  Probably not likely to happen or work, but uh... fucking who knows these days.

As a EU/French I vehemently oppose that idea unless we get to see the Canadian mounted police to parade here on the Champs Elysée, this next 14th July :p

I appreciate the thought and the vote of confidence. Unity against the US would be nice. But, I'm afraid of the US influence in Canada. It's bad enough in the EU, but Canada probably is worse.
My conditions in order of importance, if I had any power at all, would be (and maybe Canada already has these):
no "winner takes all" or first past the post anywhere - single transferable vote or ranked choice voting
separation of church and state
wealth tax aka "tax wealth, not work", it'll pay for a bunch of the below
free public education
universal healthcare without stupid deductibles
the ability to live without a car in any place with more than 5k people i.e public transport FTW, high speed trains, buses, metros and trams, fuck cars
opensource in all public services
no deals with the US defence industry (although the EU council just made idiotic concessions)
house the homeless
state funded TV
Those are off the top of my head. Given more time, I'd probably come up with more, but I think those are the basic things I'd care about.
Edit: Yes, I'm aware most EU members don't have this, but Canada could be a lighthouse, guiding the rest of the members. It would probably see a huge influx of Europeans if those things were to be implemented.
- So most countries should be thrown out of the eu as we don't fulfill these?
  
  Edit: Yes, I'm aware most EU members don't have this, but Canada could be a lighthouse, guiding the rest of the members. It would probably see a huge influx of Europeans if those things were to be implemented.
  From what it looks like I wrote that a full two hours before your comment.
- Canada is well on our way. Lots of support for proportional representation voting, separation of church and state yes (Canada is much less religious than the states except maybe Alberta), ways of taxing the wealthy through capital gains tax etc, education so free up until university and then tuition is lower for Canadians and federal student loans are at 0% lending, universal health care no dedications already in place. I think Europe might not understand how vast and far Canada is so public transportation can be really challenging but yes city’s have ok public transportation and better would be great. I don’t know about opensource or defence contracts so I won’t speak to those. Better housing options for homeless would be great. And we have state funded TV, CBC which we’re very proud of!
- I agree with your suggestions however ranked choice aka the alternative vote funnels everyone’s votes to the 2 big parties thus causing less political competition in our politics.
  The winner-take-all ranked ballot system that was being pushed by Justin Trudeau can distort results even more than first past the post.
  
  Versus FPTP, which funnels votes to 2 big parties, forces strategic voting and discards everyone else's opinions?
  Ranked choice allows the politicians in a country to see what people actually want. There's been countless elections in my country where I'd have voted Green if I knew that vote would then be transferred to the party of my preference, rather than effectively being a vote for the party I like least (as a third party vote is in FPTP).
  If the incoming government knows the only reason they got in was down to a load of transferred green votes, they would be pressured to push for a policy agenda more skewed in that direction and in theory should result in a government more representative of the people that voted for it

If Canada joins EU that would make it the union less a European union, not saying I would mind that but we're gonna need a better name. Maybe invite Australia & New Zealand as well. Need to be quick though, before UK snatches them up.
Hear me out, wild plan: why not free the russians & add that as well.
- canada should replace israel in the european broadcasting union instead
  
  100%. We should persuade Canada to join Eurovision. They have some great artists and both English and French are easier to get votes with lol.
- Would be funny to drag in all of the commonwealth except the UK
  
  Well they wanted to leave, and maybe the rest of the commonwealth and the EU want something different.
- Australia is in... the Eurovision Song Contest.
  
  Sure, but so is the cultist nation of Israel for some stupid reason.
- The no-homer union

Would it be awesome to be able to move and in the EU? Oh yeah, it would be great. However, the practicality of reality is that either Canada would have to completely overhaul laws and standards to be line with the EU would be absolute nightmare. Either Canada would have to adopt EU standards or gets a carve out making Canada not really part of the EU.
Alberta and Quebec already hate having Ottawa tell them what to do. Having Brussels have an influence on Canadian life? Even more of a reason to separate. Which means another constitutional crisis for Canada.
Canada should instead work to build stronger ties with the EU. Trade deals, research coordination, defence policy, immigration, etc.

I don't mind exchanging good ideas and having treaties with Europe, but joining the EU is definitely too far.
We don't need more super-national organization binding us.
- How else are we supposed to start the federation?

Love Canada, but European union... is European...?
- Gotta love it when people think words have some magical meaning that cannot change ever and hold everyone hostage
  
  "European union" has a meaning - it is a union of European countries. Not much room in that. It's little different case, than idiotic Eurovision, that has competitors from elsewhere.
  Also how would that work? How would you harmonize the regulations and laws between Canada and EU countries? I'm all for working together, but this idea is truly nonsense.
- Rename to North-Atlantic and European Union
- I mean Israel is in Eurovision so....Wouldn't you like Our Lady Peace or Matthew Good to compete in that too? Sloan is also really great. I won't mention the obvious ones...
- I agree, we need a new name
  
  Caneurion union
  Euranadian union
  gestures broadly union
- Looks at France

Europe’s going far-right & ramping up the military again. No surprise that the countries who sheltered Nazis want to get in on the Fourth Reich.
- Which country should we all strive to be like?
  
  How about not 1930’s Germany?

I'd be hesitant to join if it means giving up monetary sovereignty.
That's a huge shackle on anything the federal government could do fiscally.
The idea of gaining protection from us crazy Americans? Totally valid.
- There are countries in the EU that do not use the Euro. We can keep our loonies.
  
  Those are typically early joiners who got special conditions. The idea is for everyone to adopt the Euro at some point. (The UK wouldn't have but that's moot since they left. If they rejoin they most likely won't get that special treatment anymore.)
- I’d be hesitant to join if it means giving up monetary sovereignty.
  Wise of you.

117 comments