Key Takeaways
- Canada would rank 4th by GDP and 10th by GDP per capita amongst 27 EU countries.
- It has the highest share of university-educated adults.
- It is sixth-lowest when it comes to home ownership rates.
In January, The Economist ran a headline stating: Why Canada Should Join the EU.
“Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal.” — THE ECONOMIST.
It is an opinion piece looking at the pros and cons of a thought experiment.
While impossible under generally-understood EU membership criteria (i.e., actually being a part of the continent), we pulled some relevant data to see how Canada would rank amidst other EU countries.
Figures from this graphic are sourced from a variety of organizations: the International Monetary Fund (GDP and GDP per capita), Eurostat and Statistics Canada (university education, home ownership rate) and NATO (military spending).
All figures in percentages or U.S. dollars where applicable. Years vary per metric and are listed in the table in the next section. Average currency exchange rates for 2023 were used for military spending comparisons.
| EU Country / Canada |
GDP ($ Billions, 2025) |
GDP Per Capita (USD, 2025) |
Military Spending ($ Millions, 2023) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | $534 | $58,192 | $3,117 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | $685 | $57,772 | $6,110 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | $117 | $18,522 | $1,502 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $2,225 | $53,558 | $29,146 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | $99 | $25,674 | $1,108 |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | $39 | $41,132 | $647 |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | $360 | $33,039 | $4,113 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | $450 | $74,969 | $7,365 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | $45 | $32,760 | $1,135 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | $304 | $54,163 | $4,250 |
| 🇫🇷 France | $3,211 | $46,792 | $55,830 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $4,745 | $55,911 | $50,188 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | $267 | $25,756 | $5,454 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | $237 | $24,809 | $3,999 |
In fact, Canada’s performance is mostly par for course with its economy size and comparisons are best suited with similar large economies.
For example, Canada is behind EU leaders—Germany and France—when it comes to military spending.
When it comes to GDP per capita, it only lags one peer economy: Germany, outperforming both France and Italy.
Notably, it has the highest share of university-educated adults.
| EU Country / Canada |
College Degrees (%, 2024) |
Home Ownership Rate (%, 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 37 | 54 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 45 | 72 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 34 | 86 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 58 | 67 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 30 | 91 |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 51 | 69 |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 28 | 76 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 45 | 60 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 42 | 81 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 43 | 69 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 43 | 63 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 35 | 48 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 35 | 70 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 31 | 91 |
Note: Canada’s college degree figure is from 2021, and its home ownership rate is from 2022. College degrees measure the share of the population aged 25–64 with a university degree or higher.
The one metric where Canada is in the bottom 10 is home ownership rates. It would be sixth-lowest in the EU.
Worth mentioning here is that Eurostat measures this metric a little differently than Statistics Canada, which may result in some variations in direct comparison.
In the wake of Trump Administration tariffs and “Canada as the 51st state” rhetoric, commenters of both sides of the Atlantic are saying Canada should form closer ties with the EU.
Mark Carney, the newly elected Canadian prime minister, is pro-Europe. Ideologically he’s been compared to France’s Emmanuel Macron. Carney holds both British and EU citizenship and previously voiced deep concerns about Brexit during his tenure at the Bank of England.
The benefits of some sort of alliance are obvious: Canada and the EU have similar social welfare systems, approaches to governance, and tradable resources.
Is Canada-EU a pipe dream? Or a new era of geopolitical alliances?
Credit: Visual Capitalist
