OTTAWA (Realist English). Canada is stepping up defence and trade cooperation with Nordic countries as part of efforts to lessen dependence on the United States, following repeated threats of annexation from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, on a five-day visit to Sweden and Finland, said Ottawa aims to strengthen business, diplomatic and military ties with “like-minded” partners, particularly in the Arctic. “We know we are overdependent on the U.S. in trade,” she told the Financial Times. “We also know we have to invest more in our military after decades of under-financing. Our defence industrial strategy is designed to channel more investment into Europe and diversify partnerships with countries such as Sweden and Finland.”
Trump’s aggressive stance toward Canada — including tariff measures that breached the free trade agreement and open talk of annexation — dominated the national election campaign this spring and helped propel Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party to victory. Carney has pledged to build “the strongest economy in the G7” by insulating Canada from U.S. pressure and expanding ties with allies in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
During her trip, Joly met defence manufacturer Saab and technology group Ericsson in Sweden, and inaugurated construction of a Canadian-owned polar icebreaker in Finland. Saab, which produces the Gripen fighter jet and the GlobalEye surveillance aircraft in partnership with Canada’s Bombardier, is seen in Ottawa as a potential counterbalance to reliance on U.S.-made F-35s. Canada has ordered the latter but has instructed its defence ministry to review alternatives.
Canada, the U.S. and Finland have also signed a pact to co-develop icebreakers, drawing on Finnish expertise in Arctic shipbuilding. Finland and Sweden, which joined NATO in the past two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have voiced similar concerns over Moscow and Washington’s intentions in the Arctic. Trump’s remarks about taking control of Greenland from Denmark further deepened Nordic unease.
“The game changer was their accession to NATO,” Joly said. “We just created a new Arctic security dialogue together. We need to make sure we put money where our mouth is when it comes to protecting our sovereignty.”
Canadian business leaders support the strategy. “More diversified trade links make Canada more resilient to shocks and more competitive in the long run,” said Catherine Fortin LeFaivre, head of international policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “Yes, it is harder and costlier to ship goods across oceans than across a land border, but Canada has what the world needs.”
Joly’s Nordic trip is part of a wider diplomatic push by Carney’s government to rebuild ties with Europe, the UK, China and India, while expanding outreach in Latin America. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu is scheduled to travel to Brazil on Monday.
