Trudeau attends NATO summit as Russia escalates aggression against Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to meet with NATO leaders on Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the defensive alliance as Russia escalates its aggression against Ukraine.

The ongoing war will top the agenda of the three-day summit after Monday’s Russian missile attacks caused death and destruction, including at a large children’s hospital in Kiev.

Strong new measures to support Ukraine are to be announced during the summit, and officials say there will be information on the war-torn country’s efforts to join NATO.

At last year’s summit, participants agreed that Ukraine should join the alliance once conditions permit — namely, the end of the Russian invasion and Ukraine making a series of democratic reforms to eliminate corruption.

Trudeau is expected to make strong comments about the need to remain resolute in his support for Ukraine. At the same time, Canadian officials will face questions about their own commitment to NATO when it comes to defense spending.

Alliance members agreed to spend at least the equivalent of two percent of their gross domestic product on defense, but Canada has long fallen short of the target.

On Monday afternoon, Defense Minister Bill Blair suggested that Canada came to the summit with the kind of detailed plan that allies had asked for when he spoke at the Foreign Policy Security Forum in Washington.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the US, said she has faced some pressure on the issue from US officials, who expect each country to step up as much as they can.

Hillman joined Trudeau on Tuesday morning for a bipartisan meeting with US senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The meeting included at least three of the 23 senators who wrote Trudeau a letter in May urging him to come to the summit with a clear plan to meet the NATO target.

Under Canada’s new defense policy, the federal government expects its defense spending to rise to 1.76% of GDP by 2029-30. Senators called that deeply disappointing.

Trudeau is expected to deliver a keynote address later on Tuesday at NATO’s Center of Excellence for Climate Change and Security. He is also scheduled to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The goals of the meetings are to talk about how the relationship between the two countries works and to ensure that it is “based on a strong, stable and predictable, rules-based system,” Hillman said. “And how we can work together to make sure we make each other more resilient.”

Topics such as electric vehicles, critical minerals and energy transformation will be on the table.

Trudeau’s scheduled meetings with US politicians come as the possibility of a second Donald Trump administration looms over the summit.

The prime minister faced criticism after Trump was first elected in 2016 for being unprepared, and their relationship has seen struggles throughout the Republican’s four-year term.

Ahead of this fall’s presidential election, the Liberal government’s Team Canada has been hitting the road in the US to make sure Canadians are prepared for any outcome.

Trudeau spoke about the two countries’ economic ties during a meeting with Wes Moore, the Democratic governor of Maryland, on Monday. He emphasized the importance of working together in a time of uncertainty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 9, 2024.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, Canadian Press