Canada could potentially be the first non-European state associate member of the European Union(EU) following an official invitation to connect with the bloc.

The invitation was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during an her State of the Union address in Strasbourg on Wednesday. “The first lobby for North American country to be the first associate member of the European Union”

“We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well,” she added

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was also among those he attendees in the audience for her speech which comes amidst a vicious trade war with the North American neighbors U.S.

Reports assert that August has seen Canadians vigorously push to strengthen ties with Europeans. Full EU membership is not an option, as Canada is not a European state.

Canada is not a European state geographically, but it shares the same values as the EU – human rights, democracy, rule of law – which are necessary criteria for becoming a member state.

Several options currently exist for countries associated but not full member. Norway, for instance, is part of the single market, the EU’s borderless area of free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Oslo and Brussels also collaborate on joint defence initiatives.

Switzerland also has access to the single market through several agreements – and in the years since Brexit, the United Kingdom and the EU have secured the largest and broadest trade and cooperation deal in the bloc’s history, coverering a wide range of sectors