RIGA, Latvia — Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Canada will extend its largest overseas military mission, Operation REASSURANCE, for another three years, reinforcing the country’s role in NATO’s eastern flank amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
The mission currently stations about 2,000 Canadian troops in Latvia, forming the backbone of a NATO multinational brigade made up of 14 countries and roughly 3,000 soldiers in total. Canada has led the brigade since its launch in 2014, with commitments expanded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in Riga on Tuesday alongside Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, Carney emphasized the extension as part of Canada’s broader pledge to strengthen deterrence against Russian aggression. He repeated the message he delivered days earlier in Kyiv on Ukraine’s Independence Day: NATO must “deter and fortify” in order to “secure lasting peace.”
Carney will visit Canadian troops at a Latvian base on Wednesday before concluding his European tour and returning to Canada.