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Canada and nordics seek closer 'middle power' cooperation
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 15, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 15, 2026
Quick Summary
Canada and the five Nordic countries agreed in Oslo on March 15, 2026 to enhance cooperation in military-industrial production, defence procurement, and support to Ukraine, part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s broader ‘middle‑power’ network strategy.
Canada and Nordic Countries Strengthen Middle Power Cooperation in Defence & Trade
Deepening Alliances for Defence, Security, and Economic Growth
Agreement on Military Industrial Production
OSLO, March 15 (Reuters) - Canada and the five Nordic countries on Sunday said they have agreed to deepen cooperation on military industrial production and other topics, in the latest push by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to build new global alliances.
Expanding Global Partnerships Beyond the United States
Carney has sought closer ties with China and Middle Eastern countries as well as India and Europe, as he tries to reduce his country's dependence on the United States and forge a trading order led by what he calls middle-power countries.
Collective Defence Procurement Initiatives
The prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Canada, meeting in Oslo, said they aimed to boost their collective defence, security and resilience by working more closely together on defence procurement.
Value for Taxpayers and Enhanced Protection
"We all agree that if we individually spend that money or we spend it in an uncoordinated way, it's not going to be value for taxpayers. It also will not protect our people as much as we should," Carney told reporters after the six-nation meeting.
"We will still do a lot of procurement with the United States... but in all cases looking to procure much more in partnership. And it's a much broader range of countries with whom we can partner," Carney said.
Support for Ukraine and the Changing World Order
The prime ministers also vowed to continue to provide economic, civilian, military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, they said.
Building a New World Order Based on Shared Values
"The old world order is gone and will probably not come back," Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.
"So we have to build something new and it has to be a world order that is built on the values that we represent," she said.
Opportunities for Security and Economic Growth
The deeper cooperation will help safeguard security and create new opportunities for economic growth, said Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who hosted the meeting.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo and Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Key Takeaways
- •Carney is pursuing a diversified geopolitical strategy by fostering alliances beyond the U.S., particularly with Nordic and other middle‑power nations, to strengthen Canada’s security and trade resilience. (en.wikipedia.org)
- •Recent steps include a Defence Cooperation MOU with Denmark on procurement and industrial collaboration, and a broader Canada‑Nordic commitment to coordinated defence procurement to improve value and collective resilience. ()
References
Frequently Asked Questions about Canada and Nordics seek closer 'middle power' cooperation
1What did Canada and the Nordic countries agree on in Oslo?
They agreed to deepen cooperation on military industrial production, defence procurement, and other strategic areas.
2Who participated in the Oslo meeting regarding middle power cooperation?
Prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Canada attended the meeting.
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