Minister Blair concludes productive visit to Latvia and Poland

News release

December 20, 2024 – Warsaw, Poland – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Yesterday, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, concluded a successful visit to Latvia and Poland during which he met with Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members ahead of the holidays and held bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

While in Latvia from December 15-17, Minister Blair visited Ādaži Military Base (Camp Ādaži), to thank CAF troops for their contributions in strengthening the security of Canada and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies. He also recognized the success of Exercise RESOLUTE WARRIOR conducted in Central and Northern Latvia last month. This was the first Canadian-led brigade field exercise in Europe in over 30 years.

The Minister met with Defence Minister for the Republic of Latvia, Andris Sprūds, to discuss the strong Canada-Latvia defence relationship rooted in our shared values. Minister Blair reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic security, highlighting ongoing military support to Ukraine, including Canada’s October 2024 commitment to contribute $5 million to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s Drone Coalition Capability Common Fund led by Latvia and the United Kingdom.

Minister Blair also thanked Latvia for hosting the Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia (MNB-LVA). The Brigade plays a key role in NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts. Canada’s contribution through Operation REASSURANCE is our largest foreign military deployment. He outlined plans to reinforce MNB-LVA with a steady state of approximately 3,000 persistently deployed Allied soldiers by summer 2025. This includes about 1,500 CAF members currently at the Brigade, along with additional capabilities and personnel flowing into Latvia beyond that into 2026.

From December 17-18, Minister Blair was in Poland where he met with Canadian troops deployed on Operation UNIFIER, delivering combat engineer training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and participating in Polish-led medical training for the AFU. He recognized CAF members’ commitment to providing Ukraine with the training needed to defend itself against Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable war.

While in Poland, the Minister met with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Poland, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, to discuss both countries’ growing defence relationship. Their discussion focused on joint military assistance to Ukraine and strengthening NATO’s Eastern Flank.

Minister Blair also expressed gratitude for Poland’s support in facilitating Canada’s equipment donations to Ukraine. The ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to continuing military assistance and training for Ukraine while underscoring the strong Canada-Poland defence partnership based on shared values and NATO cooperation.

Canada remains steadfast in its dedication to strengthening relationships with Allies, supporting Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty and independence, and upholding the rules-based international order.

Quotes

“During my visit to Latvia and Poland, I thanked our Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on Operation REASSURANCE and Operation UNIFIER for their vital work. I was also pleased to have productive discussions with my counterparts about shared priorities. Canada’s commitment to the security of our Allies and the strengthening of NATO’s collective deterrence and defence posture has been unwavering. Our ongoing collaboration underscores the importance of a united Alliance in the face of evolving global threats.”

- The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence

Quick facts

Canada enjoys excellent relations with Latvia. Canada was the first G7 country to recognize the restoration of Latvia's independence in 1991, and the first country to ratify Latvia’s accession to NATO in 2004.
Canada and Poland enjoy a close-knit and multifaceted defence partnership. Canada remains proud to have been the first NATO country to ratify Poland’s membership in 1998.
NATO is a cornerstone of Canada’s international security policy. Canada believes in and steadfastly supports NATO’s principle of collective defence and actively contributes to NATO missions and operations.
Operation REASSURANCE refers to the military activities undertaken by the CAF since 2014 to support NATO’s assurance presence, posture, and defence and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Canada-led NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia currently consists of 13 contributing nations, including Canada, Albania, Czechia, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Sweden will begin contributing in January 2025.
Operation UNIFIER is the CAF’s military training, professionalization, and capacity building mission in support of Ukraine, launched in 2015 at the request of the Ukrainian government following the illegal annexation of Crimea. It was expanded in early 2022 during the Russian pre-invasion military buildup.
Since the start of Operation UNIFIER, the CAF has trained over 43,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, over 10,000 of whom have been trained in various locations across Europe following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $19.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including $4.5 billion in military assistance. This includes Leopard 2 main battle tanks, armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, and M777 howitzers along with associated ammunition.
Canada is currently a member of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group’s Armour, Air Force, Drone, and IT capability coalitions.

Associated links

Contacts

Andrew Green
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: Andrew.Green@forces.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca

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Date modified:: 2024-12-20