Dear Canadians,
my friend group has been talking about this on and off, and frankly I’m sick of talking about Canadians and would rather talk to Canadians.
It’s my best estimation that Canadians would welcome closer cooperation, less reliance on the US and strong ties with the EU.
But for Federalists like me, the “ever closer union” the EU is supposed to be, should continue to improve (european institutions are far from perfect) but ultimatly become a single entity, basically a Federal Republic of Europe. And this is what, I believe, Canadians would balk at and I would not want a new EU member if they are resistant to this goal.
But there are, of course, exceptional benefits to being part of it and of becoming a single European Republic. I would not be a federalist if I did not believe that all member states would very much benefit from being just one of many federal states in this imagined European Republic. I just don’t think that Canadians are actually ready for this.
Am I wrong about that? My friends think that if I can see how much we would benefit, why wouldn’t you? Would you give up the Canadian Dollar, some sovereignity and the ultimate say about what happens to Canada to have an equal, representative and fair place at the table of a transpolar political entity. I mean… the canadian population is half that of Germany, Canada would be in fifth place in terms of voting power in that Union.
Personally I think it’s a nice talking point to shock USians and it’s a nice point to make a warm and fuzzy atmosphere in the room when Canada and the EU hammer out agreements to benefit both of us (middle powers etc.), but I do not think it’s in any way realistic. What do you think?
Love from a German 🇪🇺❤️🇨🇦
Edit:
Wow, this got a lot of responses and I’m sorry I cannot respond to all of you. So let me just say this:
I feel honored by you all taking the time to respond and I’m picking up that there is a deep well of mutual affection and respect between the EU and Canada, which is lovely.
Having read all of your comments, I remain convinced that full formal membership would not really be the right relationship for both sides. But there is definitely a strong, mutual wish for very close cooperation based on common values and respect as partners. I think both Canada and the EU are really fed up with being treated as imperial vassal states by the US and can help each other strengthen our positions as middle-powers through various cooperation agreements while keeping canadian sovereignty intact.
Thank you all so very much for sharing your thoughts on this. ❤️
Haha, yes, there was a little news reporting about a poll that suggested 25% of Canadians would welcome EU membership and an additional 58% think it would be “worth exploring the idea”. And especially after the prime ministers of France and Finland favoured the idea, there was some public discussion about it.
It’s also part of a strong sentiment across EU populations that Trump floating basically the forceful annexation of Canada was completely out of line and I believe there are some revanchist fantasies hidden in a sentiment of “You megalomaniacs cannot just annex Canada, but they might join a sane union by their own free will”. Which imho. honestly is mostly just a very elitist european ego talking.
And because moving to and working in Canada is equally romanticised on our side of the Atlantic, the free movement aspect was especially attractive over here too. But the appeal was a little broader than just “cosmopolitan types”(though also mostly there), because many people enjoying the rural life absolutely dream of one day having some plot of land and a cabin by a lake in the canadian wilderness.
And yes, people who actually gave it more thought, especially about the logistics, like you said, quickly realised all the hang ups this would have if either side ever started to treat it as a realistic idea.
I believe my friend who is so much in favour of it really is one of those romantic types, thinking he could have a cozy work-from-home setup somewhere in a cabin by a lake. And I also think he would quickly miss the ability to drive no more than 15 minutes to get his groceries. Because true “wilderness” in Canada seems to me to be a very lonely thing.
While true EU membership would likely be impossible to achieve in any meaningful way, I think the idea of a much more tightly integrated relationship with Europe is very much something most Canadians do support, even with some logistical challenges. People underestimate how much we share in common with our European cousins. A lot of us still keep in touch with family back in Europe, still follow the news of the day, and indulge in entertainment from the old country, to a much higher degree than Americans ever did. I think our values align much better with Europe than with the US in recent memory and I think we’d be willing to adapt a lot more for Europe than the Yanks.
Huh, TIL. That’s interesting to hear that it goes both ways.
It can be, yeah. There are some areas where you can live in the wilderness but still be close to a city or small town. This can be expensive if you’re near a city or on a warmish island, but there are plenty of small towns where you could buy land nearby and build a cabin on it for fairly cheap.
But there are some areas in Canada that are very remote. For example, according to Wikipedia Germany is about 357,022 km^2. For comparison, our most rural territory is Nunavut, which is 2,093,190 km^2. It’s so rural that it has no roads connecting it to the rest of the country and its biggest city has only a population of 7,429 people. The wilderness there is truly lonely. I know people who have reported seeing some very strange things in the wilderness, and the indigenous peoples’ have many beliefs about animals that exist out there that we have not yet verified with Western science. It’s such a vast, lonely place and there’s a lot about it we don’t understand.
Grass is always greener on the other side :)