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Canada … is trying to create some kind of middle powers alliance, capable of standing up to the US as well as the more usual foes of China and Russia.

Canadian ministers are increasingly common sights in Europe, to the extent that one Nordic minister, only half jokingly, says: “They should join the EU.”

Nowhere has their attention been focused more than on the Nordic countries, owing to shared business links and a combined focus on the growing importance of the Arctic and security matters — alongside questions about the commitment of the US to all of them. That in turn raises the prospect of Canadian-Nordic tie-ups as a test case for other European companies and countries as they try to wean themselves off a more unpredictable US under President Donald Trump.

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There are already some links between the Nordics and [Canada]. Sweden’s Saab takes a Bombardier aircraft from Canada and adds its own defence radar, sensors and command and control systems to make the GlobalEye, currently the leading surveillance aircraft on the market. Canada is currently deciding between the GlobalEye and two American rival offerings in what could be a contract worth about C$5bn.

The Swedish defence company has also suggested that it could build its Gripen fighter jets in Canada, just as Ottawa debates its dependence on the rival US F-35s.

There are further defence possibilities. A joint German-Norwegian submarine — developed for both countries’ navies by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and Norway’s Kongsberg — is under consideration by Canada. Space is another area of co-operation with the Nordics, with both Sweden and Norway trying to start commercial launches. Joly says other areas of mutual interest include advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, energy and AI.

The Arctic is also an important arena for more tie-ups across the Atlantic amid shared concern about Russia and China’s interests in the region. Joly and her Norwegian counterpart last month signed a statement backing an “ambitious plan to develop a joint research agenda to advance understanding of the Arctic”.

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For European companies … Canada could be a tempting option.

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