Canada in the EU? All the opportunities for European businesses

The Europe-Canada corridor

Six links between the two markets, from the most immediate to the most distant

1 Critical raw materialsAlready in force

Lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, uranium and rare earths. The EU-Canada strategic partnership on raw materials is already active: for a European company the opportunity is not only to buy, but to enter joint ventures, supply extraction and refining technology, and take part in developing plants. The most concrete part is downstream: machinery, components, automation and industrial services for a country that must turn its resources into higher value-added products.

2 Defence and the SAFE programmeAlready operational

In June 2026 the Council of the EU concluded the agreement admitting Canadian companies and products to procurement funded by SAFE, the €150 billion programme. Canada is the first non-European country to be admitted. Three routes: joint programmes with Canadian partners, entry into their supply chains, and using Canada as an industrial platform into North America without going through the United States.

3 Productive investmentAlready in force

On 15 September 2026 the Carney government announced a permanent deduction for productive investment, with the stated aim of attracting over one trillion Canadian dollars. For some European companies, the choice will not be to export more, but to locate production capacity close to resources. Whether it pays off depends on the sector, the province and the relationship with the US market.

4 Technology, AI and quantumIn progress

Toronto, Montréal and Waterloo host some of the most significant ecosystems in North America; Europe has the market, regulatory capacity and a diversified industrial base. The complementarity covers artificial intelligence, quantum, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing. If the tech alliance takes shape, those who build partnerships before standardisation will be able to influence how the two markets connect.

5 Energy and LNGUnder construction

Canada is not yet an established supplier of liquefied gas to Europe: the first long-term European agreements cover deliveries expected in the early 2030s. The immediate opportunity is infrastructure, meaning terminals, transport, storage, engineering, nuclear, hydroelectric and clean tech. It is a market where arriving five years early matters more than arriving five months early.

6 Associate member statusTo be negotiated

Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal of 16 September 2026 does not yet have a basis in the Treaties, and the legal content of the status has yet to be built. CETA has not been fully ratified by all Member States, and differences remain on dairy, telecommunications and industrial standards. It is the only row to be treated as a political scenario, not as an available instrument.

The opportunity is there, even if “associate member” status never is

Let us clarify one fundamental point from the outset: the opportunities we are about to list are, and will remain, valid regardless of whether an agreement on formal accession is reached.
Canada is now at odds with Trump’s United States, and is increasingly pressed by Washington to become the fifty-first state. It will not happen. It would therefore be a mistake to wait for Brussels to define a new status before looking at Canada. The economic relationship is already deep enough to generate opportunities, regardless of the outcome of the proposal.

In 2025 trade between Canada and the European Union continued to grow, and CETA has already eliminated or reduced most tariff barriers. Meanwhile, Ottawa is seeking to reduce its dependence on the US market: in 2025, 71.7% of Canadian merchandise exports went to the United States, admittedly. Now, however, exports to other markets have grown by 17.2% (Statistics Canada).

For European businesses, this means investing in a market that now has a far stronger political and economic incentive to seek alternative partners. Von der Leyen’s proposal simply aims to accelerate the process. It is not, however, necessary for the process to exist.

Critical raw materials: the first opportunity is reducing dependence

Europe’s open secret is its structural dependence.
It is well known that many industrial supply chains depend on raw materials concentrated in a handful of countries. This is why Canada and the EU already have a strategic partnership on raw materials, designed to increase the security and resilience of supply chains (European Commission).

Lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, uranium and rare earths are essential for batteries, semiconductors, energy, defence and digital technologies. From this perspective, the main opportunity for a European company is to enter joint ventures, supply extraction and refining technology, take part in developing plants or build long-term agreements before demand rises.

Manufacturers of machinery, components, automation systems, materials processing technologies or providers of industrial services may therefore find in Canada a market that needs to increase its capacity to turn its resources into higher value-added products.

For many Italian companies this is the most concrete opportunity: exporting industrial technology into a supply chain that Europe wants to bring closer and make more secure.

Defence: a market that has already opened

In defence, we are no longer in the realm of hypotheses. In June 2026 the Council of the EU formally concluded the agreement allowing Canadian companies and products to take part in procurement financed through SAFE. Canada is the first non-European country admitted to the instrument (Council of the EU).

For European companies this creates three opportunities: (i) taking part in programmes with Canadian partners, (ii) entering their supply chains and (iii) using Canada as an industrial platform to access North American projects without having to depend on the US market.

Europe wants to increase production capacity and the availability of systems; Canada wants to diversify suppliers and partnerships. A match made in Heaven, then. When both sides need to expand their industrial base, value tends to shift towards those with production capacity, specialist technologies and credible delivery times.

Energy: the opportunity is to build tomorrow’s flows today

On energy, patience will be needed. Canada is not yet a major established supplier of LNG to Europe. In 2026, however, the European Commission and the Canadian government stepped up business-to-business dialogue on potential flows of liquefied natural gas and on energy value chains; the first long-term European agreements concern deliveries scheduled for the early 2030s (European Commission; Natural Resources Canada).

For a European business, then, the opportunity lies above all in building the infrastructure: terminals, transport and storage technologies, engineering, energy services, nuclear, hydroelectric and clean tech.

This is the kind of market where arriving five years early can matter more than arriving five months early. Long-term energy contracts, permits and infrastructure create relationships that are hard to replace once established.

Technology, AI and quantum: entering an ecosystem in search of scale

Toronto, Montréal and Waterloo host some of the most significant technology ecosystems in North America. Europe, by contrast, has a large market, strong regulatory capacity and a highly diversified industrial base. This complementarity could become particularly interesting in artificial intelligence, quantum, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.

Beyond start-ups and venture capital, the most compelling opportunities concern industrial enterprise. European companies can look for Canadian technologies to integrate into their own processes; Canadian companies can use a European partner to enter the single market. Meanwhile, universities and research centres can share funded programmes, while B2B firms can build joint products for regulated sectors.

If the future “tech alliance” mentioned in Strasbourg takes shape, standards and interoperability could become a significant advantage. Companies that start building partnerships before standardisation will have a better chance of influencing how those markets connect.

Canada: a compelling investment destination

The Carney government is seeking foreign capital. On 15 September it announced a permanent deduction for productive investment, aiming to attract over one trillion Canadian dollars in new investment by reducing the effective burden on new capital (Reuters).

This adds a dimension that is often missing when the EU-Canada relationship is read purely through the lens of trade. For some European companies, the choice may not be to export more, but to locate production capacity in Canada: close to resources, within a market that wants to diversify its relationships, and with privileged access to a North American industrial ecosystem.

Whether it pays off, however, will naturally depend on the sector, the incentives, the rules and the relationship with the US market.

What a European board should be looking at today

The news from Strasbourg becomes useful once it is turned into a decision map. For a European board, the most relevant questions are five.

Which raw materials or critical components could be sourced in Canada?
Which Canadian customers or partners would become more accessible with greater integration?
Are there public procurement opportunities or industrial programmes the company can take part in?
Does it make sense to assess a local production investment?
And which parts of the business currently depend excessively on the United States or China?

These questions can be built into a Business Intelligence and scenario planning system that goes beyond internal data. A management team that looks only at revenue and margins discovers change once it has already reached the numbers. A management team that integrates geopolitical signals, supply chains and industrial policy can decide earlier.

The risks remain, but the opportunity is real

Associate member status does not yet have a basis in the Treaties, CETA has not yet been fully ratified by all Member States, and differences remain in key sectors. And no agreement with Europe can ever erase geography: Canada will always have the United States on its doorstep.

But let us start right here. Canada needs to reduce its dependence on the States. At the same time, Europe needs to reduce its dependence on China and Russia, while increasing its industrial capacity and finding new partners in energy, defence and raw materials.
In this complementarity, we at Bliss see a major opportunity.

We shall see what becomes of this proposal. For a European company, however, Ottawa remains an excellent investment option regardless. Now and in the future. The point is to understand, before others, through which channels.