Canada Calls U.S. Greenland Deal ‘Encouraging’

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published September 20, 2026

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Canada’s Defence Minister David McGuinty has welcomed a new security agreement involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland, describing it as “encouraging” after months of tension over the future of the strategically important Arctic territory.

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Saturday, McGuinty said it was encouraging to see the United States and Greenland find a way to move forward together. He also pointed to growing cooperation among Arctic countries and said NATO allies increasingly recognize the region as part of their collective security responsibilities.

His comments come as the new agreement offers Washington a path to strengthen its military presence in Greenland without changing the island’s sovereignty. The arrangement is expected to expand U.S. security access while keeping Greenland under Danish sovereignty — a framework that eases one of the central disputes that had fuelled tensions between Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk.

The agreement also seeks to prevent countries outside NATO from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments in Greenland. While the precise scale of any additional U.S. military presence has not yet been disclosed, the arrangement builds on longstanding American defence access to the island and is intended to strengthen security across the Arctic and North Atlantic.

Denmark and Greenland have stressed that the deal does not transfer sovereignty to the United States. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said the agreement recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland and Denmark and preserves the right of Greenlanders to self-determination. The agreement is expected to be signed by the three governments during the United Nations General Assembly, although parliamentary action will still be required in Denmark and Greenland before it can take effect.

The breakthrough follows months of friction after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed calls for Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States and declined to rule out taking the island by military force. Denmark and Greenland repeatedly rejected those proposals and maintained that the territory was not for sale.

For Canada, the agreement comes as Arctic security occupies an increasingly prominent place in NATO defence planning. McGuinty said the growing willingness of Arctic nations to work together — and the recognition by NATO members of their responsibilities in the region — were both encouraging developments.