Canada’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltics: An Enduring Commitment to Transatlantic Security.

Abstract

What explains the character and extent of Canada’s contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battlegroup Latvia, a commitment on a diferent continent, thousands of kilometres from Canada’s shores? The answer can be found in Canada’s deep and continuing commitment to the transatlantic alliance. For Canada, NATO has been frst and foremost about security, particularly European security. While Canadians have at times facetiously observed that Europeans like to fght their wars down to the last Canadian, the EFP is yet another example why Canada, irrespective of the government of the day, is a “closest realist”: an unwavering commitment to peace and stability in Europe is integral to Canadian grand strategy for reasons of national as well as collective interest.