Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Monday the federal government is leaving “no stone unturned” to defend Canada’s North as changes in the global order in recent years are having direct implications for Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.
Anand was in Helsinki to meet with her counterparts from Nordic countries to discuss Arctic security, which she said has become a more critical issue since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Before that, Anand said NATO countries typically focused on shoring up the security along the eastern flank in Europe.
“NATO’s gaze also has to shift westward and north because of the changing geopolitical landscape, especially following February 24, 2022,” she said in a call back from Finland with reporters.
“We are seeing increased activity, for example, in the Northwest Passage, we are seeing Russian infrastructure moved further and further north on the other side of the Arctic Circle. So our priority, in terms of Canada’s Arctic foreign policy is to ensure that we leave no stone unturned, to protect and defend Canada’s sovereignty, especially in the Arctic.”
Anand’s meetings on Monday came the same day European leaders, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were at the White House discussing with U.S. President Donald Trump ways to end the war in Ukraine. The conflict is more than a decade old, with Russia annexing Crimea in 2014, before launching a wider war in 2022.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney last week participated virtually in talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders ahead of Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Carney was not involved in Monday’s discussions at The White House and Anand did not say whether he had been invited, when asked Monday.
Anand said Canada’s position on the matter has not changed.
“Decisions regarding the future of Ukraine belong to Ukrainians alone,” Anand said. “That is Canada’s position and there’s no ambiguity on that front about this.”
Anand said tightening security and economic ties with the Nordic region means a combination of both economics and security partnerships.
Talks in Washington were still ongoing Monday afternoon. Trump has talked about swapping land between areas occupied by Russia and Ukrainian territory, but many world leaders say this would undermine the integrity of borders, and incentivize Putin to further destabilize Europe.
Zelenskyy has said Kyiv needs security guarantees, which involve meaningful commitments of military force by more powerful countries if Russia makes more incursions into Ukraine, under any ceasefire or peace agreement.
Some have called for Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance, which Putin has repeatedly characterized as a threat to Russia’s security. When asked whether Ukraine should join the alliance, Anand said it’s up to the Ukrainian government what groupings it aspires to join.
Anand will meet Tuesday with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, after he returns to Helsinki from the White House.
Among the topics of discussion with Anand’s counterparts will be how Canada can convince other countries that international law is fundamental, not just for peace in Ukraine but around the world.
Her role is “to ensure that my counterparts around the world are aware of Canada’s position and to build the bridges necessary, to ensure that other countries also view international law, territorial integrity (and) the rules-based international order as fundamental institutions that must be protected and respected,” she said.
The ministers will also talk about the intersection of critical minerals and security, she said.
Typically, Anand said, “one would separate out projects that were focused on the economy and projects that were focused on defence and security.”
Now, she said, “thinking in those silos is no longer appropriate, because Canada’s economic security is tied deeply to our sovereignty overall and indeed protecting and defending our very country.”
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