Canada pledges to continue supporting NATO's 'evolution'

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed Canada's commitment to NATO on Thursday and pledged to continue supporting the alliance's “evolution.”

"What we are at the core is: We're a strong NATO member. We're going to continue to support its evolution," Carney told reporters in Quebec, where he announced "an important initiative" to diversify Canada's trade and strengthen its economy.

Pointing to Canada recently fulfilling its defense spending obligations, Carney noted that "just a few weeks ago, we met for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, our NATO commitments in terms of 2% defense spending."

He explained that meeting a financial target was secondary to the broader mission, "protecting Canadians."

To that end, Carney said Canada was deepening ties with select NATO partners, including "the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and others, for greater protection for our Arctic, and integrated protection for our Arctic."

He framed the efforts as sitting within the broader alliance structure, stating that they form part of "how NATO's enduring contribution to Canada's protection is realized," an approach he described as "robust" regardless of how the alliance evolves.