Canadians Support a Closer Canada–EU Relationship

Canadians are showing a clear openness to a closer relationship with Europe. Seven in ten support Canada becoming an “Associate Member” of the European Union, and support remains high even when a closer EU relationship is framed as coming at the expense of ties with the United States.

But the survey also shows that Canadians are more enthusiastic about some forms of integration than others. Greater market access resonates far more strongly than regulatory alignment, suggesting that the type of closer relationship matters as much as the idea itself.

• 70% of Canadians support Canada becoming an “Associate Member” of the European Union; 13% oppose and 18% are unsure.
• 63% of Canadians say giving Canadian and EU businesses greater access to each other’s markets would make them more likely to support closer ties.
• 53% of Canadians say greater defence and security cooperation would increase their support
  53% of Canadians also say their support would increase if it would make it easier to travel between Canada and participating European countries.
• Only 25% say requiring Canada to align some laws, regulations and standards with the EU would make them more likely to support closer relations.

Support for Canada becoming an Associate Member of the EU reaches 79% among Canadians aged 55 and older, compared with 62% among those aged 18 to 34. Younger adults are also more likely to be undecided: 25% say they do not know or are not sure, compared with 11% among those 55 and older.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan stand out geographically as just under half of respondents in those provinces (49%) support Associate Member status, compared with 75% in Quebec, 73% in British Columbia and 71% in Ontario. 

Canadians’ openness to Europe doesn’t really waver even when our survey introduces a potential trade-off with the United States. Nearly three-quarters (72%) say they would support Canada developing a closer relationship with the EU if it resulted in a less close relationship with the U.S.; 14% oppose the idea and 15% are unsure.

That finding is particularly notable against the backdrop of heightened attention to Canada–U.S. relations. Our recent research on how Canadians and Americans view their relationship found meaningful differences in how the two populations see one another. Still, the current survey should not be read as evidence that Canadians want weaker U.S. ties. It shows that most respondents would accept that trade-off in the specific scenario they were asked to consider.

Beyond trade, Canadians show some openness to greater mobility between Canada and the EU. Just over half (51%) say making it easier for Canadian and EU citizens to live and work in each other’s jurisdictions would increase their support for closer relations, while 47% say the same about making it easier for students to study on either side of the Atlantic.

These ideas would build on an already substantial relationship. The EU is Canada’s second-largest global trading partner for goods and services, and Canada and the EU already cooperate through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Strategic Partnership Agreement. 

This online survey was conducted among 1,533 Canadians aged 18 or older between September 19 and 21, 2026. Respondents were randomly recruited through Léger’s online LEO panel and could complete the survey in English or French. Results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and the presence of children in the household to ensure a representative sample of the Canadian population.

For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would yield a margin of error of no more than ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The figures presented in the report are rounded, so totals may not always correspond exactly to the sum of displayed percentages.