Canada won't pay directly into EU budget under Carney's plan: ambassador-designate

"We would be very selective," Canada's incoming EU ambassador Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview with CBC's The House airing Saturday morning. "This is not across the board. It's certainly not membership in the European Union."

But Wilkinson did say there are programs which may require some degree of funding. As an example, he pointed to the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program , which offers loans to member states for defence investments.

Canada is currently the only non-European country to join the program. Wilkinson said there are other areas for co-operation, like enhancing Canada's ability to sell critical minerals by having Europe make investments in the sector or working with the EU on AI and other digital technologies.

What we know about the proposed partnership between Canada and the EU