Heads of state at the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China. It was the largest summit in the SCO’s history. Photo courtesy the Prime Minister’s Office of India/Wikimedia Commons.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has caused a shift in long-established patterns in the conduct of international relations. Many countries around the world have been grappling with this challenge. For Canada, the issue is particularly acute due to Trump’s trade and tariff threats and their immediate impact on domestic economic interests.

Early expressions of concern emerged in the course of the pandemic, when masks and other medical supplies intended for Canada were diverted to the United States. At that time, several arguments, including my own, were made in favour of diversification. In other words, it was proposed to reduce dependence on the US by strengthening ties with other economic powers.

Carney recognizes the importance of diversification, which has led him to reach out to Europe. This is understandable given his own experience as the head of the Bank of England, as well as Canada’s cultural and historical ties with the Old Continent. However, from an economic perspective, he is seeking support in a region that is in structural decline and experiences persistent social and political crises. The approval ratings of French President Emmanuel Macron (17 percent) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (26 percent) speak for themselves.

Europe has harmed itself by restricting its purchases of oil and gas from Russia. This has increased energy costs and undermined energy-intensive industries, particularly in Germany. Politically and economically, Europe is becoming what it has always been geographically: the westernmost periphery of Eurasia occupying less than eight percent of the continent. The recent meeting........

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