The EU was Canada’s second-largest global trading partner for goods and services in 2025, with total trade valued at approximately $178 billion. It was also Canada’s second-largest global source of foreign direct investment (FDI), after the United States, with EU FDI stock in Canada estimated at $219 billion in 2025, while Canadian direct investment in the EU totalled $315 billion, The Prime Minister of Canada said in a press release.
At the summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney will work with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convert what Canada described as complementary strengths into consumer, business and mobility benefits. The government said the EU brings market power, research depth and manufacturing strength, while Canada brings abundant energy, critical minerals, capabilities in space, artificial intelligence and quantum, and one of the world’s strongest banking systems.
Canada will host the Canada-EU Summit in Montreal on October 29-30, 2026, to advance a wider partnership across trade, technology, energy and security.
The EU was Canada’s second-largest goods and services trading partner in 2025, with total trade of about $178 billion, and a major FDI source.
The summit follows 2025 Brussels agreements and Canada’s 2026 entry into the EU’s SAFE defence.
The expected areas of benefit include more choice and lower costs for consumers, new export markets for businesses, and greater opportunities for young people to live, work and study in Canada or the EU.
Carney said: “The world is more dangerous and divided. In response, Canada and the European Union are building on each other’s strengths – deliberately, systematically, and rapidly – to form a new, ambitious alliance. An alliance that builds resilience for what it allows us to do for our citizens, and our citizens to do for themselves. An alliance strong enough so that no one can dictate our choices, and an alliance open enough that others can join.”
The 2026 summit follows the Canada-EU Summit held on June 23, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium, where the two sides launched the New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future and signed the Security and Defence Partnership. Those agreements laid the foundation for deeper cooperation across trade, technology, energy and security.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
