In a widely hailed speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for further cooperation among middle powers, coining the phrase that went viral: “Middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” This has reignited the debate about Canada’s future place in the world, and whether a much closer alliance with, or possibly even membership in, the EU should be pursued.
The lecture will investigate possible roads ahead by examining lessons from the approaches that different Nordic countries have undertaken on their path to European integration. Despite their surface level similarity, these countries have all followed very unique roads with regard to their EU or EEA participation, joining the Eurozone, and/or NATO membership. This talk will identify lessons that can be drawn from these different paths from the Canadian perspective.
This hybrid event is co-sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Those who wish to attend online can register for the Zoom link below.
A light lunch will be served for all those who RSVP by April 30th at noon.
Bio
Kristof Heidemann is a visiting PhD researcher from the University of Turku in Finland. His research focuses on how technological developments contribute to democratic backsliding and possible constitutional countermeasures. He has previously studied in Germany, Norway and Japan, and is an affiliated researcher with CSDI from April to June 2026.
