Canada Joins European Broadcasting Union and Eurovision for 2027

Canada's public broadcaster became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union on June 25 after approval at the group's General Assembly in Prague. The change makes the country eligible to enter the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2027.

The government had already signaled support for the move in its 2025 budget. Officials said the step fits a wider plan to modernize the public broadcaster and expand cultural ties with Europe.

At the NATO summit in Ankara last month, alliance members endorsed a Canada-led Defense, Security and Resilience Bank to finance defense and resilience projects. Canada also joined the European Union's 150 billion euro SAFE defense financing instrument.

These steps come as the government seeks to broaden its international partnerships. Officials have cited uncertainty over long-term commitments from traditional allies as one factor behind the shift.

In March, Canada and the European Union launched the EU-Canada Digital Trade Agreement to expand cooperation on digital commerce and data governance. The agreement builds on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that took provisional effect in 2017.

The government has set a target to double non-U.S. exports by 2035. Officials said the goal is to reduce reliance on a single market. "Donald Trump has tried bullying Canada with his on-and-off talk of the 51st state, and it's natural that Canada would strengthen its ties to other NATO allies as a way of attempting to deal with the situation it finds itself in today," James Goldgeier, a professor of international relations at American University, told Newsweek.