Finland's president on why he believes Canada can – eventually – become part of the EU
Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb says he texts Prime Minister Mark Carney almost every day.
“We're tough,” Stubb said with a smile.
Now, Stubb and Carney have a chance to talk in person.
Stubb is in Ottawa for his first official bilateral meetings with the Canadian prime minister. The two are working to improve trade and defense ties, according to Carney's office.
“With shared interests, values and commitment to international security, I look forward to engaging with President Stubb to deepen our partnership to create stability, security and prosperity for both our peoples,” Carney wrote in a statement.
One of the ways Stubb says he maintains relationships is through regular communication.
He said being the leader of a “small country” means that “knowledge is power.”
“If I have some information, I'll send it to Mark. If Mark has some information, he might let me know,” Stubb said in an interview with CBC News senior political correspondent Rosemary Barton.
But Stubb said their bond goes beyond a personal relationship.
“I think Finns and Canadians are very similar,” he said. “We're cool, calm and collected outside of the ice hockey rink. Then when the going gets tough, we go to the sauna and take an ice bath and calm down.”
It's part of the reason Stubb believes Canada can eventually become part of the European Union.
“I think Canada in terms of its overall stability, its value base, is so close to the European Union that the least we can do is build a really close relationship,” he said.
“I would think of a much larger EU, whether Canada is part of it or not is up to Canada to decide.”
While joining the EU may not be in Canada's future, Carney has been promoting trade relations with countries including India, China and the five Nordic countries as part of an effort to break away from the US.
Carney called the Trump administration's weaponization of trade through tariffs a “crack” in the global order.
Although Stubb doesn't use the same “tough language” as Carney, he believes a shift is happening.
“I think that foreign policy and diplomacy have never happened completely. It is not black and white, unless we go to war,” he said.
“We agree with the fact that the world order is changing.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb hit the ice at TD Place on Tuesday. The two leaders trained with the Eagles before taking a photo with the team.
While this change may be coming, for now, Finland and Canada must maintain their relationship with the US, especially in terms of security, Stubb said.
Canada, Finland and the US are all part of a trilateral agreement: the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, which aims to help produce icebreakers to strengthen Arctic security.
That introduces another world leader into the fray, who Stubb says he also maintains a messaging relationship with: US President Donald Trump.
Stubb says that when it comes to his role in maintaining the trilateral relationship between Finland, Canada and the United States, he has to be “very reasonable.”
“So understand that we don't agree on some things like the climate or international institutions, but we understand that it is in our mutual interest to cooperate on things like defense,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I'm optimistic. If you don't know how things are going to turn out, assume they're going to turn out OK.”
The full interview with Alexander Stubb will be broadcast CBC Live's Rosemary Barton on April 19.
