President Trump once threatened to tariff Canada into becoming America’s 51st state. Now, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is attempting an ambitious pivot toward Europe, with his team using diplomatic backchannels to negotiate an “associate member” status with the European Union. Canada is eyeing ways to informally lock into Europe’s $21 trillion market so goods, services and workers in strategic industries like energy, AI and defense can move frictionlessly across the Atlantic. Our reporters explore how a network—including members of an exclusive Ottawa book club—is trying to pull off one of the most consequential geopolitical shifts in modern history.