UK should 'team up' with Canada in new Europe alliance, Canadian minister says

Share Save Add as preferred on Google Faisal Islam Economics editor Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images The UK should "team up" with a proposed economic alliance between Canada and Europe, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has said.

"This is all about the substance, to build an alliance of the future," he told the BBC. "The world has changed. America has changed. So we need to change."

Champagne also gave a frank assessment of the Canada-US trade war after a deal collapsed last month, saying the country had "stood up for our industries, our workers, our country" by imposing tariffs.

His comments come after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed "opening the door" to an associate EU membership for Canada , an unprecedented move for the bloc.