Canada has been “over reliant on the US for too long,” and wants to forge closer ties with the UK and the EU, Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly said.

“We are the most European of all non-European countries,” she told the BBC on Wednesday. “That’s why we want to be closer to Europe.”

Her latest remarks come after she and Prime Minister Mark Carney met with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday to talk about a new partnership.

US-Canada relations have been tense in recent months, after Trump imposed tariffs on Canada’s auto, aluminium and steel industries, and said Canada would be better off as a US state.

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Trump has imposed general tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico, and sector-specific import taxes on cars, some of which have been suspended pending negotiations.

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Joly said the tariffs caused widespread anxiety in Canada, and became the number one ballot question in the recent Canadian election.

“Some have lost their jobs, and many families are affected,” she said. “My job and the prime minister’s job is to make sure that we defend them.”

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According to Statistics Canada, Canadian exports to the United States decreased 6.6% in March 2025, a second consecutive monthly decline following the strong ramp up in exports to the United States that led to a record in January. Despite the recent decreases, Canadian exports to the United States were 2.5% higher in March 2025 compared with November 2024. Meanwhile, imports from the United States fell 2.9% in March. Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the United States went from $10.8 billion in February to $8.4 billion in March. Meanwhile, exports to countries other than the United States jump

Canadian exports to countries other than the United States rose 24.8% in March, representing the second-largest percentage increase on record. Exports to the United Kingdom (unwrought gold), the Netherlands (crude oil), Hong Kong (crude oil) and Germany (various products) increased the most for the month.

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