Ottawa's Prime Minister Mark Carney hadn't even gotten past his opening remarks to the European Parliament in Strasbourg before things got awkward. According to a clip shared by Ottawa account @shottawa.tv, one member of the European Parliament (MEP) started chanting "USA! USA!" from inside the chamber just as Carney rose to speak.
The outburst was met with visible jeers and disapproval from other lawmakers in the room. Carney, for his part, appeared to register the interruption but pressed on with his address rather than acknowledging it directly.
Why it matters, from Ottawa's perspective
As the seat of Canada's federal government, Ottawa is where the policy behind Carney's European trip actually gets shaped, and this particular address carried real stakes for the country's foreign and economic strategy. Carney used the speech to push for Canada and the European Union to build significantly deeper ties, including a proposal that would make Canada the EU's first-ever "associate member." That's a novel status that would go beyond a standard trade partnership, and Carney framed it around cooperation on defence, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, energy and trade.
The timing made the moment more pointed than a simple hiccup. U.S. President Donald Trump has already publicly criticized the proposed Canada-EU arrangement and threatened steep tariffs against Europe if the deal moves forward. Against that backdrop, a chant referencing the United States, delivered mid-speech in the parliament chamber, read to many observers as a not-so-subtle jab tied to that transatlantic tension rather than a random heckle.
The bigger picture
Canada's push for closer EU alignment comes at a moment when Ottawa has been actively diversifying its international partnerships, wary of leaning too heavily on trade with the U.S. amid ongoing tariff threats. An associate membership arrangement, if it ever materializes, would be a significant shift in how Canada positions itself on the world stage, and Carney's Strasbourg trip was part of the groundwork for that.
As of now, neither Carney's office nor European Parliament leadership has issued a formal statement addressing the chant itself, though it's already circulating widely online.
Source: Instagram @shottawa.tv
