Von der Leyen told the EU’s State of the Union address that the bloc and Canada “see the world with the same eyes”, including on topics ranging from AI, to climate change and geopolitics.
“And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains. But above all… Europe and Canada believe in democracy.”
She listed manufacturing, technology, AI, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security as key areas for cooperation under the partnership.
The EU and Canada already have a free-trade agreement eliminating duties on 99% of goods exports called the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).
“We will move from CETA to an Alliance for the Future to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” said von der Leyen.
The move comes as EU members have also been hit trade tariffs under Trump’s administration and as the bloc faces what its chief described as “an openly hostile world”.
Setting out the EU’s political and policy priorities for year ahead,
“For a long time, we have discussed a leaders’ format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved,” she said in the wide-ranging address.
“This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play. This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality.”
Alongside global threats, von der Leyen also said many European families were worried about the cost of living, and the “dizzying speed of change” of technology and its impacts on jobs and society.
Other proposals included inviting the world’s largest AI labs for talks on how to support industry efforts to pace the frontier, as well as slashing bureaucracy for businesses in the EU.
A new emergency tool to help countries better deal with mass migration movements following the deadly influx of migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July would also be outlined.
Plans to curb social media use among children, including banning platforms for under 13s, were also put forward. Under the proposal, children aged 13 to 15 would only be able to set up social media accounts which are supervised by parents.