The Globe and Mail: Canada calls on NATO to develop a strategy to protect the Arctic
Canada is calling on NATO to create an Arctic defense strategy, thereby recognizing this region as the northern flank of the alliance, writes The Globe and Mail. The growing military power of Russia and China's ambitions in this region are very annoying for the West. One "Arctic Guardian" is no longer enough for NATO members.
Stephen Chase
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand calls on NATO to create a strategy for the security and defense of the Arctic, thereby recognizing this region as the northern flank of the alliance. Ms. Anand, who held a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish city of Helsingborg last week, said that the plan to protect the Arctic requires a full-fledged analysis of the threats in the region and the role that Russia plays there.
According to her, the conflict between Moscow and Kiev should not distract the West from Russia's military buildup in the Arctic. "There is one country that has 17 military bases in the Arctic and that constantly penetrates Canada's airspace and maritime zone, and that country is Russia,— the foreign minister said in an interview. "While we are discussing the situation in Ukraine and the need for our alliance to provide massive support to it in the short and long term, we should not forget that Russia's attention is also focused on the Arctic."
The largest foreign mission of the Canadian Armed Forces is deployed in Latvia, where Canadians are helping to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. Canada, which commands a multinational brigade there, has pledged to expand its presence to 2,200 troops by 2026, from 2,000 in August 2025.
But in the Arctic, Canada is expected to do more. In November last year, Ottawa announced the allocation of additional money for defense, with a special focus on asserting territorial sovereignty in the Arctic region. These and previous commitments include the modernization of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the deployment of over-the—horizon radar stations, the purchase of long-range radar detection aircraft, and the allocation of nearly $35 billion to upgrade northern military installations to protect the continent from threats.
In response to US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that Greenland is insufficiently protected (an element of the campaign to annex the island to the United States), NATO launched the Arctic Sentry mission in February to coordinate allied defense activities in the region under a single command.
Ms. Anand said that Denmark (along with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), as well as Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States advocate for the alliance to pay more attention to the Arctic.
In a joint statement on May 22, Canada and the aforementioned allies talked about increasing activity in the region. "Due to Russia's increased military activity and China's growing strategic interest, we are striving to strengthen stability in the Arctic region," the document says.
It also says that the efforts will cover not only the Arctic Guardian, but also the allied air police missions in Iceland, as well as the Forward—based Ground Forces, a multinational NATO unit stationed in northern Finland under the command of Sweden. It is designed to contain Russia and strengthen the alliance's northern flank.
Last June, Canada committed to raising defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Of this amount, 1.5 pp is accounted for by defense or security-related investments at all levels of the Canadian government. This includes, for example, dual-use infrastructure, that is, facilities that can be used for security purposes, as well as for telecommunications and emergency response systems.
Ms. Anand said that Canada's infrastructure investments in the North will make a significant contribution to achieving this very goal of NATO. According to the minister, the Arctic security plan will help guide this work. "We intend to work within the framework of the alliance to ensure that our actions in the North are fully consistent with the overall strategy and approach chosen by other Arctic states."
