Canada pledges to double NATO mission in Latvia

TRENTON, Canada

Canada will double its commitment to the NATO mission in Latvia, upping its monetary contribution to CAN$2.6 billion (US$1.95 billion) and promising up to 2,200 troops, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

Trudeau made the promised increases – the money is over three years – in Riga, Latvia, prior to the NATO Summit that gets underway Tuesday. The prime minister also announced a larger commitment in response troops.

“Canada is also ready to deploy additional surge personnel for allied crisis response, cooperative security, and collective defense,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. “Canada will also procure and pre-position critical weapon systems, enablers, supplies and support intelligence, cyber, and space activities to fulfill pledges made under the Latvia-Canada joint declaration of June 2022.”

Recently, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand announced a commitment of 15 Leopard 2 tanks and 130 personnel to join the NATO mission in the fall.

The announcements are to counter the Russian presence in the area and Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

“Today, we are once again standing shoulder to shoulder with our Allies against Russian aggression,” Trudeau said in a statement. “Wherever they are in the world, the Canadian Armed Forces will always work to reinforce global stability, security, and the rules-based international order, toward a better and more peaceful world for all. Canada is proud to support Latvia and NATO Allies….”

Trudeau met with newly-inaugurated President Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia as well as Krisjanis Karins, Latvia’s prime minister. The leaders promised strengthened ties and a commitment to advance democracy.