A new survey indicates that public opinion in the five largest European Union member states leans in favor of admitting Canada to the bloc. The research, conducted by international market research and data analytics firm YouGov, surveyed over 1,000 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain. Respondents were asked: “To what extent, if at all, would you support or oppose Canada joining the European Union?”
Support Across Key Nations
The results show that a majority or plurality in all five countries support the idea. Germany emerged as the most supportive country, with 55 percent saying they would back Canada’s admittance, followed by Spain at 51 percent. In Poland, 46 percent expressed support, compared to 21 percent opposed. Support also outweighed opposition in France (42 percent versus 29 percent) and Italy (41 percent versus 24 percent), while the remainder of respondents said they were unsure.
The survey was conducted between April 9 and 17, 2026, and follows a Nanos Research survey published April 11, which found that nearly three in five Canadians (57 percent) would support Canada becoming an EU member.
Political Context and Statements
Prime Minister Mark Carney joined the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, making Canada the first non-European country to attend an EPC meeting. In a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Carney said: “In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is moving ever closer to our European partners and allies. Bound by our shared values, we are advancing cooperation in defence, energy, and technology to build a more secure and prosperous future on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Both Carney and European leaders have previously addressed the prospect of Canada joining the EU. France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in March that the EU is attracting more candidate countries, such as Iceland, and suggested “maybe Canada at some point” will sign up. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also raised the possibility that Canada could one day join the EU.
However, at the NATO summit in the Netherlands last June, Carney stated that he is “looking for a closer partnership” with the European Union, but does not intend for Canada to join the EU. “That’s not the intent. That’s not the pathway we’re on,” he said.
Economic and Regulatory Challenges
If Canada were to join, it would become one of the EU’s richest members, with its GDP per capita higher than the EU average, and therefore a significant contributor to the EU budget. National Post columnist Tristin Hopper previously calculated that Canada could “expect to spend between $6.5 billion and $20 billion on annual EU payments that never get returned” if it became a member state.
EU membership would also require Canada to adopt a wide range of regulatory standards, with changes to trade processes likely to prove both costly and complex. Mark Camilleri, European Union special advisor at the Business Council of Canada, wrote in a February paper for Policy Magazine that the “regulatory realignment” needed for Canada to join the EU would “invariably destabilize the Canadian economy in the North American market and beyond.”
Legal Hurdles
As for whether Canada realistically could become the 28th EU member state, the current rules set out in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union make it effectively impossible, as membership is limited to European countries.
