cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31326900

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Canada has floated doing major defense deals with Europe and improving the continent’s access to its critical minerals in response to President Donald Trump’s threats and his pullback from US defense commitments.

Canada is seeking closer defense industry cooperation with Italy and the European Union as “a matter of urgency,” Elissa Golberg, its ambassador in Rome, wrote to Italy’s finance, foreign affairs, defense and enterprise ministers.

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The ambassador’s letter, which was seen by Bloomberg News, requested Italy’s support in ensuring that legislative texts allow third parties to collaborate with the EU’s ReArm defense plan.

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Golberg’s letter outlined plans “to purchase a number of key capabilities through major near-term procurement efforts” including as many as a dozen submarines, additional fighter jets, and battle tanks “that could potentially be acquired from European suppliers”.

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Canadian industry “has much more to offer,” the letter continues, like drones, satellite communications, robotics, AI, cybersecurity, and better integration of supply chains for Canada’s large reserves of critical minerals needed for advanced defence technologies and renewable energy systems such as nickel, cobalt and lithium.

Europe’s effort to boost defense spending “is of interest to us as Canada because of a potential alternative supplier,” Carney told reporters in London on Monday. “It creates the potential to create supply chains that mean that Canadian companies are participating in the development of these defense systems.”

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