MONTREAL -- A Canadian delegation including Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and a number of Inuit leaders will be on hand Friday when Canada officially opens its first consulate in Greenland since the end of the Second World War.
The opening in the capital, Nuuk, comes the month after U.S. President Trump escalated threats about acquiring Greenland. He has been quiet on the subject in recent days.
“There has been a lot of goodwill that has been created between Canada and Greenland just over the past few months, and the timing is very good for Canada to demonstrate its support for Greenland and its support for Arctic diplomacy,” Marc Lanteigne told CTV News.
Lanteigne is a Canadian professor of political science at University of Tromsø, the Arctic University of Norway, as well as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Greenland.
He points to the parallel of Trump’s annexation threats of Greenland with comments about making Canada the 51st state.
“This really demonstrates the fact that a lot of long-standing ideas about Arctic relations are suddenly being thrown into the air,” Lanteigne said.
While Global Affairs Canada is quick to point out in communications that the consulate was promised over a year ago as part of Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy, Friday’s opening will see no permanent consul in attendance.
In a statement, Global Affairs tells CTV News Julie Crôteau is acting head of the consular post and has been stationed in Nuuk since November.
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark (and former Liberal cabinet minister) Carolyn Bennett “will continue to make regular visits” to Nuuk, and “a Consul will be appointed in due course,” wrote spokesperson Thida Ith.
About the opening of the consulate, Jim DeHart told CTV News, “I say congratulations to Canada. I think it’s a smart move.”
He’s well-placed to have an opinion as U.S. co-ordinator for the Arctic region under the first Trump administration, including when the U.S. opened its consulate in Nuuk in 2020.
DeHart also understands Canada – and the role of consulates – serving as U.S. consul general to B.C. and Yukon following his arctic gig.
“I think having a consulate there will allow Canadians to engage Greenlanders and people residing there, well, well beyond the capital. It’s a chance to engage with people where they live and understand the views of Greenlanders,” he said, adding it’s an “effective use of resources.”
DeHart said he thinks the approach of the current Trump administration is “wrong on a few levels.” He noted “strategically bullying, threatening a NATO ally,” potentially giving Russia’s Vladimir Putin an opening, as well as calling it “ethically bankrupt to be threatening countries,” especially allied countries with shared democratic values.
Given Canada’s own trade tensions with the United States, when asked if he thought opening the consulate may anger Trump, he said he believes any potential risk would be worth it to strengthen ties with Greenland and Denmark.
“I don’t think it’s a move that should be taken as threatening by the United States, certainly in any way. I don’t think it’s about us. It shouldn’t be about us.”
Global Affairs did not answer a number of CTV News’ questions, including about how many Canadian citizens live in Greenland or how many staff will work at the consulate. The consulate building itself is shared with Iceland’s consulate.
“The consulate will offer consular services to Canadians in Greenland, as well as strengthen Canada-Greenland bilateral and commercial relations, grow people-to-people ties and mobility and enhance cooperation on Arctic governance and security,” reads Global Affairs’ media advisory about Anand’s trip.
Also present for the opening is Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker ship Jean Goodwill, with 31 crew on board. The Coast Guard is in Nuuk for a scheduled crew change, after transiting through the Davis Strait from St. John’s, N.L.
Both Simon and Anand will tour the vessel and meet with crew members. During her two-day visit, Simon will hold a number of meetings, including with Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Anand will meet with Vivian Motzfeldt, Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs and research. Anand, Motzfeldt and Denmark’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will hold a news conference in Nuuk Saturday.
Abigail Bimman will be on the ground in Nuuk, Greenland, to cover the opening of the Canadian consulate for CTV News.
