Today, the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable David J. McGuinty, participated in the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Defence Ministers' Meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland, alongside ministers and representatives from the JEF's 10 participating nations: Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the evolving security environment across the North Atlantic, the Arctic and the Baltic Sea, and the importance of strengthening cooperation and readiness among JEF participating nations. Canada has officially applied to join the JEF and continues to deepen defence cooperation with participating nations across these regions. This builds on existing Canadian Armed Forces cooperation with JEF members through exercises and planning activities, including Exercise TARASSIS in Latvia and Estonia in 2025, which involved Canadian CF-188 fighter aircraft.
Throughout the meeting, Minister McGuinty held bilateral discussions with counterparts from Iceland, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway, and engaged with counterparts from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands. Discussions focused on regional security, defence cooperation and opportunities to strengthen collective readiness across the North Atlantic, Arctic and Baltic regions.
