Canada to Talk Trade During EU Summit in Montreal

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Canada already has an offtake agreement for LNG with a German energy company. Prime Minister Mark Carney is hoping for more during trade talks with potential European partners.

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Trust Us During These Uncertain Times, Carney Says

Riding off the success of already-brokered trade deals with European partners, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is advancing his economic diversification deal by hosting EU delegates at Montreal.

"The opportunity is clear," the prime minister's office said in a statement on Sunday. "The EU brings market power, research depth, and manufacturing strength. Canada brings abundant energy, critical minerals, world-class capabilities in space, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum, and one of the world's strongest banking systems."

Carney is working hard on a trade diversification strategy that aims to move the Canadian economy away from the United States, its largest trading partner. On Friday, he hosts the likes of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Montreal.

In May, developers behind the Ksi Lisims project, a floating installation slated for the coast of British Columbia, brokered the first-ever Canadian offtake agreement with a European partner when German energy company SEFE signed up for 1 million tons per annum from the project.

Developers recently signed an offtake agreement with Australian energy company Santos as well. Readers can learn more about Ksi Lisims from a detailed project report and plant profile.

Securing LNG from the Pacific Coast of North America would be an expensive and long trip for carriers, and Europe has leaned more heavily on the U.S. for its supplies. France and the Netherlands last year were the largest European importers of U.S.-sourced LNG, accounting for about 20% of total U.S. LNG exports, U.S. federal data show.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, is in a full-on charm offensive with Europe, where von der Leyen held out the possibility of welcoming Canada as the first-ever associate member of the European Union earlier this year.

U.S. Ties are Hard to Break

As of 2025, the last full year for which the Canadian government provided data, the European Union was Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States with a total trade of US$127 billion, data from the bloc show.

Apart from energy, Canada has a deep portfolio of projects tied to critical minerals. BHP Billiton is behind a potash facility in Saskatchewan with a total investment value of US$18 billion. Joined by Fluor Canada Ltd., the plant has a design capacity of 4.3 million tons annually.

Industrial Info Resources data show hundreds of grassroots projects related to mining and minerals across Canada with a total investment value of US$204 billion. Readers can view a full list of detailed project reports. That compares to $187 billion in the United States.

Data from the European Union show bilateral trade has increased. Between 2016 and 2025, trade in goods grew by more than 76%, while services expanded by 90% over the period. Breaking ties with the United States, however, will be difficult given the integrated infrastructure in North America, where a vehicle, for example, can cross borders multiple times before it winds up on the showroom floor.

Canada is the largest supplier of crude oil to the United States by far, accounting for about 60% of the total U.S. imports. Energy has been spared, however, in ongoing trade disputes with the United States because of the tight integration.

Canada, meanwhile, is seeing pressure on its economy stemming from the fallout of the conflict in the Middle East. The Consumer Price Index in Canada increased 3.1% on an annual basis to September. Stripping out the impact of energy and consumer-level inflation was closer to 2.2%. Gasoline prices alone were up nearly 30% annually to September.

The trade summit runs Thursday to Friday in Montreal.

By the Numbers

• $127 billion in bilateral trade between Canada and the European Union
• $204 billion: Total value of grassroots projects related to mining and minerals across Canada

Key Takeaways

• Carney courting European partners for trade diversity
• It'll be hard to break away from the U.S., however, given deep trade integration

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).