The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that a proposed alliance with Europe is not meant to rival great powers, although it seems somewhat disingenuous to claim it isn't a reaction to others.
The Globe's Campbell Clark writes that the PM's earlier speech to the European Parliament about forming an alliance wouldn't have happened without Donald Trump.
Mr. Carney proposed Canada and Europe pool sovereign data and compute, and combine to build independent payment systems, defence industries, and energy and critical mineral supplies -- to ensure that great powers couldn't use their dominance over those areas to coerce them. Mr. Trump may well view that as hostile.
Europe is a natural target for Mr. Carney's effort to diversify export markets. Canada has faced a reckoning over its dependence on the U.S., notably for security, but also in key areas of technology.
Mr. Carney's didn't just talk about trade.
He discussed Canada and Europe collaborating on broadband connections to avoid routing data through the U.S. He also highlighted the need for joint efforts in artificial intelligence to establish independent standards and not rely solely on U.S. models.
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