Canada advances NATO defence bank and raises troop presence in Latvia

At the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada is seeking additional countries to join the multilateral Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) before a roster of founding members is announced. The bank, intended to raise up to £100 billion ($134 billion) of low‑cost finance for allied defence projects, aims for a AAA credit rating and will offer loans and guarantees to support small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises.

Canada announced that eight nations – Albania, Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine – have signed a declaration to become founding members of the DSRB and that Canada will host the bank’s headquarters, with a regional office planned for Romania. The partners said the institution will fill financing gaps for defence and security investments.

In a related commitment, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Canada will increase its contingent in Latvia from roughly 2,200 to 2,600 soldiers, extending the deployment until 2031 and joining Latvia and Denmark as a framework nation for NATO’s Multinational Division North. The move was presented as part of Canada’s broader effort to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and support Ukraine.