Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new military buildup in Eastern Europe. He claimed the move was needed to combat Russian aggression. 

While visiting Riga, Latvia, Trudeau said Ottawa would spend $2.6 billion and deploy 1,400 troops to the Eastern European country. “Canada is committing $2.6 billion in funding starting in 2023-24, to renew and expand Operation Reassurance for three years,” a statement from Trudeau’s office explained. “This operation is Canada’s contribution to the biggest reinforcement of the Alliance’s collective defense in a generation, and Canada’s largest overseas mission, with up to 2200 troops to be persistently deployed, more than double the current deployment.”

Canada had about 800 soldiers in Latvia before Trudeau’s declaration – and Ottawa will add about 1,400 additional troops to reach the new target. Ottawa described the newly announced buildup as “a significant increase of personnel and equipment contributions.”

Operation Reassurance, the country’s largest overseas mission, is the name Ottawa gave to its military buildup on NATO’s Eastern Flank. The Canadian government stated that the goal of the operation is to “deter Russian aggression and, if necessary, defend NATO territory.”

Ottawa has led NATO operations in Riga over the past six years. In May, Canadian troops began training Ukrainian officers in Latvia. Earlier this year, Ottawa reinforced its soldiers in Riga with millions of dollars of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. 

The North Atlantic alliance has sought to significantly boost its presence in the eight countries it dubs the “Eastern flank.” Last month, Germany pledged to dramatically increase its military presence in Lithuania.