On 29 October 2026, the EU-Canada Summit marked a further deepening of bilateral relations through the EU-Canada Alliance for the Future. The Alliance builds on the very close partnership between the two sides and envisages deeper alignment across public policies, institutional governance and EU and Canadian programmes. Relevant areas of cooperation include artificial intelligence, climate, energy and security. The emerging Alliance and investment framework connect closer political cooperation with concrete economic instruments, with a particular focus on investment, trade, economic security and more resilient supply chains.

Further information and an overview of the new Alliance are available in the 2026 EU-Canada Summit Factsheet.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described this ambition as follows: “First, it means closer alignment on policies. We can work on everything, from AI and climate to energy or security. Second, it means closer alignment on governance. It means more work shared by the European Commission and the Canadian government. This cooperation could also entail: Parliament to Parliament, between our two parliaments, and Court to Court. And third, it means closer alignment in each other’s programmes.”

A major economic component of the expanding partnership is new cooperation between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Government of Canada. In this regard the EIB announced a Framework Agreement creating the basis for EIB investment in Canada on 30 October 2026. It enables the EIB to consider financing and advisory support through loans, guarantees, equity and quasi-equity investments, as well as technical assistance.

Critical raw materials are expected to be an early focus. The EU and Canada are seeking to accelerate investment in mineral projects and diversify access to resources needed by their economies. Cooperation could support investment throughout the value chain, from extraction and processing to refining and recycling.