Mark Carney set the tone. While Canadian prime ministers traditionally make their first foreign trip to the US, he chose instead to fly to "the old countries," as they're called in Quebec. First to France, where he told Emmanuel Macron on March 17 that "Canada is the most European of non-European countries," then to the UK. "His flight also included a stop in the Canadian Arctic, during which he spoke to First Nations. He really wanted to show that, in a time of crisis, he was interested above all in speaking to Canada's 'founding peoples'," observed Roland Paris, former foreign policy adviser to Canadian ex-PM Justin Trudeau.

There could not be a more strategic time to strengthen relations between Canada and the two countries that colonized it. Ottawa has more often than not been an extra in transatlantic relations, given the importance of European ties with the US. But now Washington, which blows hot and cold on world trade and has its eye on the Canadian border, is no longer considered an infallible ally. It's "more important than ever for Canada to strengthen its ties with reliable allies, like France," said Mark Carney on March 17. In Paris as in London, the Canadian – the first non-British national to govern the Bank of England (2013-2020) – feels right at home, even if the support of Canada's two historic allies remains timid in the face of American assaults, for fear of offending the troublesome neighbor.

In Canadian politics and society alike, the desire to reconnect with Europe is making itself felt. For Canada, breaking away from the US means trying to redefine itself by (part of) its historical roots, and outlining the contours of a "Canadian patriotism" that was barely displayed before this trade war. Half-serious, half-smiling, resigning Trudeau spoke to CNN about Canadian identity on January 9, noting, "One of the ways we define ourselves most easily is, well, we’re not American."

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