Canada weighs plans to send soldiers to Greenland as show of NATO solidarity

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Canada has drawn up plans to send a small contingent of soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to acquire the semi-autonomous Arctic territory, two senior government officials say.

The officials told The Globe and Mail that the Canadian Armed Forces are awaiting final political approval from Prime Minister Mark Carney before sending the soldiers.

The Globe is not identifying the senior officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Carney says Trump’s ‘escalation’ of Greenland pursuit is concerning

Sending Canadian troops could anger Mr. Trump, who has threatened to hit a group of European countries with new tariffs after they dispatched military personnel to Greenland, a self-ruling island that is a territory of Denmark. Those soldiers were sent as part of a Danish-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization military exercise intended to signal commitment to Danish and Greenlandic sovereignty.

The European Union’s national envoys met Sunday to discuss the tariffs and draw up retaliation plans, including possibly imposing tariffs of their own.

Canada currently has three CF-18 fighter jets and a Cormorant helicopter in Greenland as part of a North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) exercise involving the United States.

The officials said a small number of Canadian soldiers could be on their way to Greenland this week as part of the NATO military exercises if Mr. Carney signs off on the plan. The officials were unsure when the Prime Minister would make the decision, but they believe it is imminent.

The Canadians would join NATO soldiers from Germany, Britain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Finland, all countries that Mr. Trump is now threatening with tariffs because of their troops’ presence.

Canada’s participation – if approved – would be meant to reinforce NATO’s commitment to policing the Arctic and show support for Denmark, the officials said.

During a visit to Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, Mr. Carney told reporters Mr. Trump’s talk of using economic coercion to acquire Greenland is a worrisome intensification of the situation. He said he plans to tell the President that the security of the Arctic island can be safeguarded by NATO.

Mr. Carney did not respond to a question about whether Canada is prepared to join other NATO countries in building up a military presence in Greenland as a show of support.

Mr. Trump has justified his demand to make Greenland a U.S. territory by saying the strategically located island and its valuable critical mineral resources should not be allowed to fall under the control of Russia or China.

Mr. Carney invoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as he outlined his response to Mr. Trump’s latest pressure tactic to gain control of Greenland.

“It’s a serious situation, and we’re concerned. We’re concerned about this escalation,” the Prime Minister said of Mr. Trump’s tariff threat.

“The future of Greenland and decisions about the future of Greenland are for Greenland and Denmark to decide.”

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U.S. legislators from both the Democratic and Republican parties have criticized Mr. Trump’s threat to take Greenland and his subsequent tariff threat. The U.S. President has said he feels Denmark is ill-equipped to defend the island and its resources.

But Mr. Carney said he believes that NATO can handle the job of defending Greenland. He said that during his recent trip to Paris he talked to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte about protecting the Arctic.

The Prime Minister said he and Mr. Rutte spoke about how “we’re going to further enhance that security umbrella” over the northern flank of the NATO territory.

Mr. Carney said Canada will always support the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, wherever their geographic location is,” adding that he talked to the emir of Qatar about a number of threats to sovereignty and territorial integrity, “Ukraine being a very prominent example.”

With a report from Reuters

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