Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in London for a major summit today on European defence, as leaders seek to set the conditions toward a lasting peace in Ukraine as Washington pulls back.
Trudeau will join numerous European leaders at the summit, which is aimed at sorting out how to prevent Russia from taking further aggression following its invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K., Ralph Goodale, said Saturday that the goal is securing “long-term security guarantees, that can make sure that the people of Ukraine can count on peace as their normal way of life and not under constant threat or constant oppression, from an unreliable neighbour.”
Trudeau will also have a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer today, and then hold an afternoon press conference with Canadian media. He leaves for Ottawa on Monday.
Carleton University professor Stephen Saideman says Trudeau is on the ground to ensure Canada remains relevant as Europeans figure out how to manage their own security without Washington’s support.
“Canada’s biggest interest is to be not forgotten,” he said. “Mostly this is about solidarity.”
He said Trudeau’s message to Europeans will likely involve standing up against Trump’s economic coercion, and co-ordinating responsive measures such as retaliation on tariffs.
“Canada is still committed to the security of Europe, and we would like for Europe to be committed to the security of Canada,” he said.
Saideman, who is director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network, said Trudeau can offer Europeans a continued North Atlantic security infrastructure, so that even as Washington backs away from the NATO alliance, it would still involve countries beyond Europe.
“The problems that Europe faces are not just European, they’re part of the Western community of states, they’re a Euro-Atlantic challenge,” he said.
Saideman, who is in Berlin for a fellowship with the Hertie School, said Friday’s heated exchanges have confirmed for many Europeans that Trump’s promises for an America First foreign policy.
“This was so hard to accept because the consequences are severe, that people were engaged in wishful thinking and denial,” he said.
“It’s really hard to deny what’s going on, when you see the fighting on TV.”
He noted Trump’s administration now includes Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom Saideman called “a white supremacist Christian nationalist” and “a Russian agent” in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
“They built a team that is doing exactly what this team would be doing, which is antagonizing … anybody who is not an authoritarian regime,” Saideman said.
He noted that today’s summit follows messages of support for Ukraine after Friday’s events at the White House, from a wide range of European leaders as well as Trudeau.
“Part of the meeting will be about making those statements real,” he said.
That could entail further movement on a push to use frozen Russian holdings in Europe to fund Ukraine’s war effort, and more integration into Europe.
Saideman said Trudeau might consider replacing moves to procure F-35 fighter jets from American firms, and substitute them Eurofighter planes, a move that would likely prompt litigation over contracts.
“We’re in a moment where we need some imagination about possibilities,” he said.
“The Europeans and Canada have to start thinking about the United States in completely different terms: as an adversary, not an ally.”
