Why does Canada want to join the Europe-led JEF military partnership?
This is the latest step in Canada's bid to move closer to Europe amid bitter trade war with the US.
Canada has applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a European military coalition, as it seeks to diversify its diplomatic and security ties following a sharp downturn in relations with the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made the request on Wednesday during an official trip to the United Kingdom, which he visited after meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. She invited Canada to become the first-ever “associate member” of the bloc.
Canada and the US have recently hit each other with tit-for-tat tariffs after trade talks failed. Ottawa has subsequently launched a transatlantic charm offensive to reduce its heavy reliance on the US on everything from trade to defence.
“It has been under-exploited because of the UK’s lack of capacity, so it’s in a position of far less strength than it could be … but changes to the membership structure might see new shifts,” defence analyst Keir Giles, of the Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera.