CANADA - Deepening Ties with Europe

Canada, the EU, EU-aspirant, and other European states have pledged closer alignment in the face of Russian and US geopolitical threats.

“It’s my strong personal view that as the international order will be rebuilt, it will be rebuilt out of Europe. And so I’m very appreciative of the symbolism of this invitation,” said Canadian prime minister Mark Carney at a European summit in Yerevan.

“We are the most European of non-European countries,” he added.

The Yerevan summit of the European Political Community (EPC) brought together mostly EU leaders, those from EU-aspirant countries in the eastern neighborhood, such as Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Armenia itself had been pulled into Russia’s orbit in 2014 when it joined Putin’s ‘Eurasian Economic Community,’ but it broke with Moscow when Russian peacekeepers failed to stop Azerbaijan from conquering an Armenian-held region in 2023.

“Eight years ago, this country was seen by a lot of countries around the [EPC] table as a sort of de facto satellite of Russia,” said Macron.

-euobserver.com, 4 May 2026

Commentary: Canada is the world’s second largest country after Russia. It certainly is a bold statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney: “We are the most European of non-European countries.” Doubtless, that can also be said by Australia and New Zealand. They all more or less follow the European social-capitalist, majority-vote democracy model.

It is not without reason that whenever international human rights organizations rank countries according to their civil liberties, besides Singapore, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are usually in the top dozen. Quite interestingly, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand did not need to fight a war for independence, but rather graduated to it. Although only symbolic, the King of England is still the head of these states.

Armenia

A 2024 opinion poll showed that 78% of Europeans would vote in favor of Armenia’s ascension to the EU, with only 18% against it. A Google search reveals, “Armenia has a realistic long-term chance of joining the European Union evidenced by its historic shift away from Russia and towards the west.”

Although it was a part of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a deeply religious, ancient Christian nation, with over 90% of the population belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church. Notably, in 301 AD it became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion. In plain words, Europe exhibits the desire for international expansion rather than isolation.

Economically speaking, Armenia belongs to the lower-middle income countries. Doubtless, if or when Armenia is accepted, it will quickly develop into a fast-growing nation, connected to a market of approximately 744 million people, representing 9% of the world’s total population.

With Russia bogged down in Ukraine, and America’s increasingly isolationist policies, the European Union will assert its power.

Our understanding is based on Daniel 2, describing the last Gentile superpower: “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise” (v. 40).

(See Discovering Daniel, Item #2423, $16.99.)