Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday at an EU-Canada summit in Brussels formally signed a historic security and defence pact between Canada and the European Union.
In signing the agreement, Carney cemented Canada's participation in the EU’s €150 billion (C$237 billion) joint arms procurement fund (SAFE), a five-year loan facility that allows participating countries to borrow funds to jointly purchase military equipment.
The €150 billion figure represents the total borrowing capacity of the fund, not a fixed contribution by Canada or any other single country. Canada will only be responsible for repaying the amount it chooses to draw from the fund.
The pact also committed Canada to closer cooperation with the EU on cyber, hybrid, and space threats, arms control, and military mobility, and launched negotiations on a Canada–EU digital agreement, including data governance and AI standards.
Carney’s efforts to solidify cooperation with the EU come as tensions rise between Canada and the US, with the pact representing a shift from reliance on the US for military defence — and American weapons too.
While the EU meetings were initially meant to focus on the Ukraine-Russia war, talks centered instead on the escalating tensions in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump initiated strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.
