Canada-European Union summit in Montreal concluding with digital trade on agenda

2:11 Canada to become EU’s 1st ‘associate member’; why are some EU nations rejecting it?

A major summit Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting with European Union leaders is set to conclude Friday with announcements on digital trade and academic exchanges.

Carney welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa to the Canada-EU summit in Montreal on Thursday.

While these meetings have been happening for years, this one sees Canada and the EU scaling up their efforts to deepen their commercial and diplomatic relationship.

Costa said he expects to see an agreement on digital trade finalized today, and news on programs for scientific research partnerships and university student exchanges.

Costa added Thursday he wants to see greater labour mobility between Canada and the Europe in addition to opening the door to easier student exchanges.

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Culture Minister Marc Miller said Thursday any labour mobility talk in industries like film would need to include the provinces as many have their own tax credits that promote local talent.

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Miller has been meeting with his European counterparts during the summit, talking about ways there could be similar regulations when it comes to promoting Canadian content on streaming services in Europe, and vice versa, alongside safeguards for children online.

“So two issues that are really important, and we’re not talking about the same exact rules potentially, but convergence and allyship with respect to large transnational companies that in some cases need to be regulated to protect kids or to promote our cultures in the face of overwhelming, monopolistic cultures, one of which is the United States, but others across the world,” Miller said in an interview.

While labour mobility in film and television production is an issue that requires further work, Miller said they are looking at ways to increase co-productions between Canada and Europe line the TV series Vikings, a Canadian-Irish co-production.

The minister said Canada already has co-production treaties with several European countries that allow joint pooling of tax credits to attract film and TV show productions.

Miller said he brought his EU counterparts to one of the promotional events for Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend, a documentary on Quebec Formula One drier Gilles Villeneuve that premièred at the Toronto International Film Festival. He said part of that visit was to look to get the film theatrical release in Europe.

Carney, Von der Leyen and Costa all said they would like to see Canada become an “associate member” of the European Union, despite countries like Germany rejecting that term and Canadian officials avoiding that phrasing.

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Conservatives have criticized the summit, noting that nine of the 28 countries in the EU have yet to ratify a decade-old trade deal with Canada.