European trip gives PM a chance to tout Canada’s AI efforts, strengthen ties: experts

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s five-day sojourn to Europe offers Canada an accidental to enactment up its narration with the European Union and amusement Canadian enactment successful artificial intelligence regulation, experts say.

Trudeau volition walk astir of the travel successful Paris for the AI Action Summit, the 3rd large planetary gathering focused connected the rapidly expanding field. He volition past marque a halt successful Brussels for a gathering of Canadian and European Union leaders.

The sojourn comes aft U.S. President Donald Trump paused his threatened tariffs connected Canadian imports for astir a period — and arsenic Trump signals Europe could beryllium his adjacent target.

“Canada gained this abbreviated reprieve and the EU has been threatened with the American tariffs arsenic well, truthful it makes consciousness for Canada and the EU to co-ordinate responses,” said Carleton University’s Achim Hurrelmann, who studies EU politics.

A week ago, Trump signed an bid to enforce 25 per cent tariffs connected Mexican and Canadian imports, with a little 10 per cent tariff connected Canadian energy. But aft 2 telephone calls with Trudeau — during which the premier curate laid retired his government’s plans to code Trump’s stated concerns astir borderline information and cause trafficking — Trump enactment the tariffs connected clasp until March 4.

Trump said the tariffs would beryllium connected intermission to spot if a “final Economic deal” could beryllium reached with Canada.

As they sermon ways to boost Canada-EU trade, Hurrelmann said, European representatives whitethorn inquire Trudeau to explicate however helium managed to get the extension.

“The full tariff saga has benignant of reinvigorated Canada’s perennial statement astir diversifying trade, and Europe has ever been 1 portion wherever there’s the cognition … commercialized could increase,” helium said, adding Europe whitethorn beryllium peculiarly funny successful Canada’s strategical earthy materials.

Canada and the EU person a affable relationship, Hurrelmann said, and see themselves well-aligned connected planetary issues done 2 halfway agreements — the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and a strategical concern agreement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said precocious that Canada’s commercialized woody with the European Union is “very important and is portion of our imaginativeness for diversifying our markets.”

Hurrelmann said Europe and Canada person been dilatory to fortify ties, “especially economical ties.”

“The Canadian system is truthful focused connected the United States, and for the European economy, Canada is simply a comparatively small, faraway market,” helium said.

But now, helium said, the narration whitethorn person the propulsion it needs to determination beyond the presumption quo.

The abbreviated jaunt to Brussels, Hurrelmann said, is apt astir “signalling to each different that we volition co-ordinate, and signalling the aforesaid happening to the extracurricular satellite and besides to the Americans.”

Artificial quality is besides apt to travel up successful the talks with EU representatives successful Brussels, helium said.

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In a property release, the Prime Minister’s Office said the meetings successful Brussels volition “discuss ways to beforehand our corporate efforts to fortify transatlantic security, support the rules-based planetary order, proceed supporting Ukraine, and make opportunities for our peoples, gathering connected the success” of the existing commercialized agreement.

Trudeau is besides scheduled to conscionable with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte portion successful Brussels.

With Trump and the U.S. tech assemblage pushing backmost connected EU efforts to modulate artificial intelligence, Hurrelmann said the EU’s caller artificial quality authorities could beryllium a “major aboriginal country of conflict” betwixt Europe and the U.S.

The AI Action Summit successful Paris follows erstwhile planetary meetings successful the U.K. and South Korea.

While those events were much focused connected questions astir AI information and the threats the exertion poses, the Paris gathering volition absorption connected specified themes arsenic AI and the nationalist interest, the aboriginal of work, innovation and culture, and spot successful planetary governance of the technology.

Trudeau besides volition person a accidental to conscionable with different heads of authorities astatine the summit. U.S. Vice President JD Vance is acceptable to attend, and the acme volition beryllium co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.

China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang is besides expected to beryllium successful Paris — conscionable arsenic the Chinese AI exemplary DeepSeek is shaking up the field.

DeepSeek offers companies entree to its AI chatbot astatine a fraction of the outgo of its rivals, and could propulsion different companies to amended their models and bring down prices.

Rowan Wilkinson, a probe expert for the integer nine programme astatine Chatham House successful the U.K., said that fixed the friction betwixt Washington and the EU implicit regulation, “specific agreements connected the absorption and rules for AI look further and further retired of reach.”

She added successful an email that with Vance confirmed to be the summit, “the attendance of China is overmuch anticipated and would awesome a maintained and superior dialog betwixt these 2 pivotal players.”