Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Elder Eva Kakolak take part in a Qulliq Lighting Ceremony in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut on Aug. 25.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants European allies to know that when Canada invests in defending North America and the Canadian Arctic, they also benefit.
The prime minister directly linked Canada’s work with the United States on defending the continent to security in Europe during a news conference today at a Royal Canadian Air Force Base in Cold Lake, Alta.
The news conference came at the end of a two-day visit by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, during which Trudeau showcased some of the investments and activities that Canada is making in its Arctic.
The tour included a military radar site in Nunavut that is part of an early warning system that the Liberal government recently promised to spend billions to upgrade over the next 20 years.
Trudeau and Stoltenberg also visited a recently opened High Arctic research station before visiting the base at Cold Lake, which is home to one of Canada’s two main fighter jet wings.
While the tour comes amid heightened tensions with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, it also coincides with Canada’s continued refusal to meet NATO’s target that all members spend two per cent of their GDP on defence.
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