Good morning. As the U.S. turns on its allies, the idea of a new transatlantic pact is gaining momentum – more on that below, along with spring floods and Apple’s new CEO. But first:

• Ottawa is leaning toward a new oil pipeline route from Alberta to southern B.C., sources say
• Pakistan is preparing for another round of Iran-U.S. talks but Tehran’s participation is unclear
• Premier David Eby backs down on amending B.C.’s Indigenous rights legislation

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb are tight. The two world leaders text almost daily. They’re both hockey fans, so when Stubb was in Ottawa for bilateral talks last week, Carney brought him to a practice skate with the city’s PWHL team. A few weeks before that, they connected in Britain, going for a run together through London’s Hyde Park. That’s where Stubb floated the idea of formalizing the relationship: What if Canada were to join the European Union? It’d be a “marriage made in heaven,” he said recently.

He’s not the only politician entertaining the prospect. France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, mulled it over at the Europe 2026 conference in Berlin last month; the audience broke into applause. Joachim Streit, a German member of the European parliament, has spent close to a year pushing for our inclusion in the EU. Former German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel suggested it back in January of 2025 – right after Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office – claiming that Canada is “more European than some European member states anyway.”

That’s a less diplomatic spin on a line Carney himself likes to use about how Canada is “the most European of the non-European countries.” And Canadians are definitely open to making things official – a new Nanos poll for The Globe and Mail found nearly 60 per cent of respondents want to become part of the union. So senior parliamentary reporter Steven Chase dug into the fine print to see what it would actually take for Canada to join the EU.

First obstacle: the Atlantic

Before you start plotting a relocation to Paris, let’s get this bit out of the way: Canadians won’t be scoring a EU passport any time soon. To start, there’s the geographical hurdle. Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union limits membership to “any European state,” and while Canada could try to argue that being European is more of a state of mind, it’s hard to overlook the ocean between us.

But even if we persuaded all 27 EU members to amend the treaty and let us in, we’d be in store for a mountain of paperwork. Canada would have to abide by the acquis communautaire, a collection of EU treaties, regulations, court rulings and legislation that runs upwards of 170,000 pages. Those obligations affect everything from labour, environmental and agricultural rules to technical standards for vehicle headlights. Adopting the laws – which tend to fall under provincial jurisdiction in Canada – could take at least a decade.

Joining the EU would also necessitate ditching all our existing trade deals, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. On the one hand: More than 70 per cent of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., and under the USMCA, most of them cross the border tariff-free. On the other: EU countries combine for the world’s second-largest economy, making up a €18-trillion market. On the third, extremely pessimistic hand: Who knows how much longer we’ll even have the USMCA? Last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called it a “very bad deal” that could be allowed to lapse this summer.

Enter: Eurovision

Carney’s official position is that Canada won’t pursue EU membership – but he has done his level best to deepen ties to Brussels. Over the past year, he inked a new security pact with the EU and bought into its €150-billion military purchasing fund. He’s set to expand Canada’s trade deal with Europe, as well, and is spearheading talks to build a massive, Trump-proof trading bloc that would include the EU and a dozen Asia-Pacific countries.

And then there’s Eurovision. Tucked inside Carney’s first federal budget, between funding for the CBC and domestic tourism, was a pledge to explore participation in the flashy song contest. It’s too late to take part in the 2026 competition, but next year remains on the table – and maybe Canada will field a musical contender so powerful, so undeniably compelling, that the EU shrugs off the whole acquis communautaire and throws open its membership doors. I vote we send Celine Dion.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered yet another explanation – and another apology – for picking Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, even after the long-time friend of Jeffrey Epstein failed security vetting. Read more here about the increasing pressure on Starmer to resign.

At home: Communities across the country are contending with spring floods, as states of emergency have been declared in parts of Manitoba and Ontario.

Abroad: In the third cabinet departure of President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned amid a misconduct investigation.

Law: The trial started for a former high-ranking Mountie accused of foreign interference on behalf of China.

Lawsuit: FBI Director Kash Patel is suing The Atlantic for US$250-million over an article that included allegations of “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.”

Trips: Canadian airfares rose last month for the first time in two years, with surging jet-fuel costs driving the ticket hikes.

Tech: Tim Cook will step down as the CEO of Apple after 15 years. John Ternus, the company’s hardware chief, is taking his place.