Finland's president on why he believes Canada could — eventually — be part of the EU

suomi chairwoman horse parsley Stubb says he exchanges messages with ground government minister Mark Carney almost every day. 

"We're tight," Stubb said with a smile. 

Now, Stubb and Carney have the opportunity to talk in person. 

Stubb is in Ottawa for his first official bilateral meetings with Canada's prime minister. The pair are working to develop trade and defence ties, according to Carney's office.

"With shared interests, values and a commitment to international security, I look forward to hosting President Stubb to deepen our partnership to create stability, security and prosperity for both our peoples," Carney wrote in a statement. 

One of the ways Stubb said he maintains that partnership is through regular communication. 

He said that being the leader of a "small country" means that "information is power."

But Stubb said their bond goes beyond a personal rapport.

"I think Fins and Canadians are quite similar," he said. "We're cool, calm and collected except in the ice hockey rink. And then when the going gets tough, we go to the sauna and take an ice bath and calm down." 

It's part of the reason why Stubb believes Canada could eventually be a part of the European Union. 

"I think Canada in terms of its whole composure, its value base, is so close to the European Union that the least we can do is to forge a really close strategic partnership," he said.

"I can envisage a much larger EU, whether Canada is a part of it or not is up to Canada to decide."

While joining the EU may not be in Canada's immediate future, Carney has been developing trade ties with countries including India, China and the five Nordic countries as part of an effort to diversify from the U.S. 

Carney has called the Trump administration's weaponization of trade through the use of tariffs a "rupture" to the global order. 

While Stubb doesn't use the same "tough language" as Carney, he does believe a transformation is taking place.  

"I think foreign policy and diplomacy is never completely binary. It's not black and white, unless we go into war," he said. 

"We agree on the fact that the world order is changing." 

Carney, Finnish president attend Ottawa Charge practice

While that change may be coming, for now, Finland and Canada must maintain their relationship with the U.S., particularly regarding security, Stubb said. 

Canada, Finland and the U.S. Are all part of a trilateral agreement: the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, which is meant to help produce icebreaker ships to strengthen Arctic security.

That introduces another world leader into the fray, one that Stubb says he also maintains a texting relationship with: U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Stubb says that when it comes to his role in maintaining trilateral relations between Finland, Canada and the United States, he has to be "very pragmatic."

"So understand that we disagree on some things like climate or international institutions, but understand that it's in our mutual interest that we co-operate on things like defence," he said.

"At the end of the day, I'm an optimist. If you don't know how things are going to end up, assume that they will end up all good."

Journalist

Brock Wilson is a senior writer and producer based in Toronto. He can often be found creating episodes for About That with Andrew Chang and writing stories for the web. You can reach him at brock.wilson@cbc.ca.

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