Trudeau says Canada will more than double military presence in Latvia

RIGA, Latvia –

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to more than double the size of Canada’s contribution to a NATO mission in Latvia, committing $2.6 billion in funding over three years and up to 2,200 Canadian troops for persistent deployment.

About 800 Canadian Armed Forces members are already part of the Canada-led battle group in the Baltic country, making it the country’s largest overseas mission.

Trudeau is also announcing that Canada will procure and pre-position critical weapon systems, and is ready to deploy additional surge personnel for allied crisis response, co-operative security and collective defence.

Defence Minister Anita Anand recently announced that a Leopard 2 tank squadron with 15 tanks and around 130 personnel would be joining the mission starting this fall.

It’s all part of the NATO military alliance’s efforts to increase its presence near Russia in response to that country’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.

The alliance has doubled the number of battle groups in the region since the war began, and has plans to increase the size and scope of some of them to be combat-ready brigades.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2023.