Canada formally applies to join northern Europe’s military initiative

WASHINGTON, September 17. /TASS/. Canada has officially applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which comprises northern European countries, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said after talks with his UK counterpart Andy Burnham in Liverpool.

"They [the two premiers] noted the deep and growing defense and security partnership between the two countries and discussed opportunities to further strengthen these efforts," Carney’s office said in a statement. "To that end, Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada has formally applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force and welcomed the UK’s support for Canada’s participation in this important initiative."

According to the report, the premiers "also discussed opportunities for defense industrial cooperation" through a joint UK-Italy-Japan program of creating a sixth generation stealth fighter-bomber. Canada joined this project as an observer in July 2026.

Also, Carney and Burnham "emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation" between Canada and the United Kingdom, and agreed to deepen cooperation on frontier technologies, including development and use of artificial intelligence.

Established in 2014, the UK-led security coalition comprises Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. Its participants hold regular joint military exercises. Commander of the UK Royal Navy, General Gwyn Jenkins said in late August that the JEF can de-facto replace NATO in the region.