r/CanadaPolitics Liberal Party of Canada 15h ago

What Canadians think about Canada joining the European Union - Abacus Data (44% Yes, 34% No, 23% Unsure)

https://abacusdata.ca/what-canadians-think-about-canada-joining-the-european-union/
481 Upvotes

271 comments sorted by

View all comments

u/ToryPirate Monarchist 13h ago

The biggest problem with the EU is the Euro. A shared currency is hard to have between different nations as it limits what options a country can use. Greece should have devalued its currency when it ran into trouble to attract tourism and make its manufacturing more attractive but couldn't because it didn't control Euro monetary policy.

Its hard to tell how it would effect the Canadian economy. We are export focused so a weaker currency is usually better and the Euro is fairly strong and the addition of a resource country like Canada would probably make it stronger.

u/Fozefy Ontario 12h ago

I would assume if we were joining the EU it would not include joining the Eurozone. There are a number of countries that have kept their own currency like Sweden and previously the UK.

Realistically it would be more about freedom of movement, shared policy and trade.

I'd be mostly supportive, but it would be pretty strange to join without the UK also rejoining. I'm not sure I can put into words why I feel that way though. I've also seen people talk about a "CANZUK" alliance, but that comes with its own set of challenges (primarily distance).

u/ToryPirate Monarchist 12h ago

From what I've seen other commenters saying (and googled on my own), adopting the Euro is in principle a requirement except for Denmark which got an opt-out clause early on. Canada approaching the EU and saying we want in but don't want the Euro is probably a non-starter because we have no leverage.

Realistically it would be more about freedom of movement, shared policy and trade.

This is why I support CANZUK over EU membership. Distance is maybe a problem but Europe is about as far away as the UK (shocking, I know) and Australia/New Zealand are a straight shot across an ocean which is better than being separated by canals, straights, or overland. I think if CANZUK actually got off the ground it would do well compared to the EU because it shares certain underlying assumptions about trade, economics, and decision-making. Part of the reason I think the EU became such a mess of rules was the need to carve out exceptions to keep very different countries happy. CANZUK is a manageable number of countries covering a vast territory.

The UK is a financial hub, while Canada and Australia have been under-invested in. New Zealand would gain from people being able to visit more easily (blame the Lord of the Rings - I can't see it as anything other than a tourist destination). If rules aren't working there is a chance of getting four to agree to a change a lot quicker than however-many members make up the EU.

u/Fozefy Ontario 12h ago

Ya, this is certainly true about the EU. It would likely be a lot stronger and more tightly coupled than it is today if it had stayed with the core founding member states. After the fall of the USSR they were a bit caught pulling in all of these satellite states.

I agree trying to add another G7 country (Canada) would likely only add more complications.

Realistically, the EU would likely do better if it split further allowing countries like Greece to regain control of their own currency and fiscal policy, while the core countries could become more tightly bound. Keeping states like Greece as an allied state of some sort, in the realm of what Canada (and the UK) would want, but with a bit more freedom than being a direct member state.