Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press »
As Trump continues to cast doubt on the future of the NATO military alliance, Canada is looking to partner with the European Union on defence.
Canadian officials have sought to reduce their reliance on American gear — particularly since Trump mused in March about selling allies “toned-down” versions of fighter planes with fewer capabilities than U.S. aircraft.
For more than a year, Canada and the EU have been in talks about a possible “security and defence partnership.”
Brussels has signed such deals with Japan and South Korea, but they largely focused on joint naval exercises. The deal with Canada would involve defence procurement, according to officials on both sides of the Atlantic.
In a white paper released in March outlining the EU’s approach to defence industries, the European Union said that “our co-operation with Canada has intensified and should be further enhanced … including on respective initiatives to boost defence industry production.”
Christian Leuprecht, a political science professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College, said both sides can build on the fact that “European companies already invest fairly heavily and extensively in Canada, including on defence.”
