Trudeau announces plans to more than double size of NATO deployment in Latvia

Canada plans to more than double the size of its contribution to a NATO mission in Latvia, adding 1,200 military personnel to its contingent in the Baltic country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

Not all of the troops will deploy right away, and it could take up to three years to fully realize the plans, which were laid out as part of Canada's strategy to lead a brigade in the region.

The federal government says it's committing $2.6 billion in funding over three years, but $1.4 billion of that was announced in the 2022 federal budget.

Trudeau made the announcement in the Latvian capital, Riga, at a joint press conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, alongside Defence Minister Anita Anand.

"This is the way forward in modern defence," Trudeau said. "Almost a dozen countries from across NATO are co-operating, training and working alongside each other and learning valuable lessons from each other that make our collective defence stronger."

Canada and Latvia signed an agreement Monday — a so-called roadmap for creating the NATO brigade.

At the moment, roughly 1,000 Canadian Armed Forces members serve in Latvia as part of a multinational battle group that was established in 2017 to deter Russian aggression in the region.

The roadmap does not contain commitments from other nations to contribute to the bigger formation, which NATO leaders mandated at their last summit in Madrid.

It's unclear how many of the additional 1,200 Canadian military personnel will belong to the army, which is already stretched for personnel.

WATCH | Canada ramping up role in NATO's Latvia mission:

Trudeau would only say the additional personnel will reinforce and enhance Canadian land, maritime and air capabilities and support special operations in central and eastern Europe.

He also restated the government's pledge to buy and pre-position critical weapon systems in the Baltic country. The prime minister also highlighted the intelligence and cyber warfare help it is providing to Latvia as well.

"Canada and all countries must be clear that Russia's unprovoked war on an independent country, on a free and democratic Ukraine, is a threat to freedom, international law, human rights and the whole set of shared democratic values that generations of soldiers have fought to defend," said Trudeau.

Last month, it was announced Canada would deploy a squadron of Leopard 2 main battle tanks — 15 tanks in total — and about 130 personnel would join the mission starting this fall.