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EU Floats Canada Becoming the Bloc's First 'Associate Member'

83 points · 170 comments · helsinkiandrew

  1. ocd · · focus · HN ↗
    As stated by Carney, this is not exactly true, but something like this has been expected. From a legal and sovereignty standpoint, EU membership of any kind does not make sense. A novel bloc of nations centered around military and economic cooperation that includes the EU and Canada however, does.
    1. gizajob · · focus · HN ↗
      It certainly does not make sense seeing as Canada is not in Europe.
      1. vrganj · · focus · HN ↗
        One could argue that it is European by founding and history though.

        Founded by Europeans, still mostly populated by people of European ancestry, with laws written by Europeans and based on European ideas.

        European isn't just a geographic descriptor :-)

        1. ocd · · focus · HN ↗
          I suppose. America is a much more mixed bag, while Canada at its core is still British, Scottish, and French. Enough cities have a certain sterile and organized appearance more common in Europe than the US. Not sure how else I'd describe it, but maybe Canada is a bit more "monolithic"?
          1. david-gpu · · focus · HN ↗
            > Canada at its core is still British, Scottish, and French

            Have you been to Canada any time in the past few decades? Around half of the population of Toronto, Canada's largest city, is foreign-born. And I promise you it is not predominantly British or French people.

            1. ocd · · focus · HN ↗
              Yes, I'm from here. Toronto is not a reflection of an entire country, and I would not compare Manhattan or a foreign military base as representative of the rest of another country either.
              1. david-gpu · · focus · HN ↗
                Here are two quotes from Statistics Canada, to provide some food for thought.

                "In 2021, more than 8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0%) of the population, were, or had ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada. [...] Just under 6.4 million people born in Canada had at least one foreign-born parent in 2021, representing 17.6% of the total population" [0]

                In other words, as of 2021, about 41% of the population were either foreign-born or had at least one foreign-born parent. In large cities where most people live, it is even higher.

                And the future does not look any more British or French, either.

                "In 2024, more than two in five newborns (42.3%) in Canada had a foreign-born mother (i.e., a mother who was born outside Canada), a proportion that has nearly doubled in just over a quarter of a century (22.5% in 1997)." [1]

                "According to Statistics Canada's recent population projections, immigrants could represent from 29.1% to 34.0% of the total population by 2041." [0]

                [0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www150.statcan.gc.ca&#x2F;n1&#x2F;daily-quotidien&#x2F;221026&#x2F;dq221026a-eng.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www150.statcan.gc.ca&#x2F;n1&#x2F;daily-quotidien&#x2F;221026&#x2F;dq221...

                [1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www150.statcan.gc.ca&#x2F;n1&#x2F;pub&#x2F;91f0015m&#x2F;91f0015m2025004-eng.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www150.statcan.gc.ca&#x2F;n1&#x2F;pub&#x2F;91f0015m&#x2F;91f0015m2025004...

          2. Lio · · focus · HN ↗
            &gt; British, Scottish,

            You do realise that British implies Scottish don&#x27;t you? On which island do you think Scotland is located?

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