While in Poland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Canada's level of defense spending, while his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk urged the rest of the West to confront the very threats that Vladimir Putin's Russia currently poses.
At a news conference on Monday, Mr. Trudeau claimed Canada was the seventh-largest defense contributor among the 31 NATO allies, but acknowledged there was still much work to be done.
“We know that there is more to do and we are in the process of doing it,” he assured together with Mr. Tusk in Warsaw.
We recognize how much more dangerous the world has become, and Canada will be there with the necessary equipment and forces to do our part.
For his part, Prime Minister Tusk deflected criticism of Canada by calling on the entire Western world, and Europe in particular, to ensure that Ukraine has the resources it needs for a decisive victory over Russia.
So far, Canada's defense commitments to Poland and Ukraine have been exceptional, Tusk said, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's bellicose rhetoric over NATO spending.
But the simplest solution to such complaints, he suggested, would be for all NATO members to step up their efforts and meet the mandatory spending threshold of 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).
“It will happen sooner or later,” Tusk said, and it is better that they do it sooner rather than later, he added through an interpreter.
Mr. Trudeau stressed that his Liberal government has already committed to a new fleet of high-tech stealth fighters and to modernizing the joint Canada-U.S. command called NORAD.
Canada is under renewed pressure to spend 2% of its GDP on defense, a target set by NATO that most other allies are expected to meet by the end of the year. Canada's spending currently stands at about 1.3% of GDP.
Both leaders also acknowledged that there are people elsewhere in the world, including in Europe, whose willingness to support Ukraine is at risk of weakening and who are blocking the formation of a united front.
This is a time when citizens cannot take their democracy for granted, Mr. Trudeau warned.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hold a press conference at the Prime Minister's Chancellery in Warsaw on February 26, 2024.
Photo: Portal / KACPER PEMPEL
Justin Trudeau, who traveled to Kyiv on Saturday to reiterate Canada's support for Ukraine, met with Tusk and President Andrzej Duda at the presidential palace in Warsaw earlier on Monday.
A first visit to Poland for Mr. Trudeau
This is Trudeau's first visit to the Polish capital since a radical political shift in the country at the end of the year ended eight years of Conservative rule. ©e last.
Tusk, who also served as the country's prime minister from 2007 to 2014, is a centrist who took office in December and is committed to strengthening ties with the rest of the country. Europe.
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Andrzej Duda (left) shakes hands with Justin Trudeau before talks on European security and support for Poland's neighbor Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Warsaw.
Photo: Associated Press / Czarek Sokolowski
For his part, President Duda is a conservative leader who now has to deal with a very different government.
The meetings focused on the threats to Ukraine and the importance of the NATO alliance, the main bulwark between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the rest of Europe.
Support for Ukraine
Canada and Poland have rallied behind Ukraine as the country enters its third year of war with dwindling supplies and personnel problems, prompting former Ukraine resident Volodymyr Zelensky to appeal for emergency aid.
Their troops recently withdrew from the strategically important city of Avdiëvka in the east of the country, giving Russia one of its greatest victories. And Russia still controls about a quarter of the country, while Ukraine failed to make a major breakthrough in its summer counteroffensive.
The looming and difficult battle did not deter Prime Minister Trudeau from reaffirming his promise to support Ukraine until victory.
Putin cannot win, he said Saturday in a speech from Hostomel airport in Ukraine, where Ukrainian soldiers repelled a Russian attack on the first day of the invasion.
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Justin Trudeau speaks during a ceremony at Hostomel Airport in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, February 24, 2024. (File photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press / Nathan Denette
Ukraine will experience a victory, just like it did here two years ago.
The Polish government wants to ensure that Canada and its other allies remain involved in the war right on its border, Canada's ambassador to the country said in an interview over the weekend. Catherine Godin described the war in Ukraine as a real and present threat to the Polish people.
Canada and Poland are cooperating on military training missions to strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. And Poland values Canada's role in protecting NATO's eastern flank in Latvia, said Ambassador Godin.
Connections with Europe
On what the change of government in Poland means for Canada, Ms. Godin noted that Ottawa will support Prime Minister Tusk's push to repair strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels after the European Union (EU) dismissed the previous Polish government as a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
In 2021, the EU denounced deficiencies in Poland's national justice systems, anti-corruption framework and media freedom.
According to Catherine Godin, they were very committed to the rule of law. Their main concern was to enable them to demonstrate their commitment, to have access to EU funds and to demonstrate their commitment to human rights.
This also corresponds to Canadian values.
