Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spent the past year arguing that Canada should stop taking orders from Washington and start building its own alliances. This week, Europe answered him directly with an open invitation that many see as a direct rebuke to President Donald Trump 's handling of America's closest neighbor.

Canada's leader draws regular scorn from President Trump, but European leaders gave him a standing ovation as they aim to push their ties to "the highest level."

U.S. President Donald Trump had described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as "laughable."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump on Thursday, insisting that his proposal to deepen EU ties wasn’t aimed at creating a new, more polite geopolitical bloc.

By Maria Cheng TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured this week an offer to become the European Union's first associate member, a mostly symbolic victory in his campaign to demonstrate Canada can flourish while decreasing its reliance on the United States.

The bloc was dealing with "an openly hostile world", Ursula von der Leyen said in her annual ‌speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, ‌setting out priorities for the 27-nation EU for the year ahead.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's wife — is stepping into a new, unpaid role focused on ocean conservation, including chairing an international conference set to take place in Halifax next year.

Despite Trump's stern words about drugs entering the U.S. from Canada, data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that drug seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border far outweigh those along the northern border with Canada.