Welcome back to “This Week in Canada,” my weekly dispatch from the land where Mark Carney pivots Canada away from the U.S. and toward Europe, proposes speech rules from Brussels, and causes a dustup over the phrase “a Zionist, if you will, Palestinian state.” Meanwhile, border officials scramble to track suspected Iranian operatives in Canada. And in Toronto? It hits 97 degrees—and the city decides it’s too hot for a swim. Let’s dive in. (No pun intended!)
When Mark Carney became prime minister, he broke with diplomatic tradition and chose Europe, not Washington, for his first official trip abroad. In mid-March, he met with leaders in France and the UK to strengthen ties with long-standing allies. The timing was no coincidence. There was growing tension with the U.S. over Donald Trump’s tariffs and the American president’s repeated musings about making Canada the “51st state.”
Since then, Carney has made clear that the old model of Canada-U.S. relations—built on deep economic integration and close military cooperation—is “over.” In its place, Carney has begun reorienting Canada’s foreign policy toward deeper alignment with the European Union.