What’s making waves this week across the Atlantic - 21 August 2025
In this issue: Canada's Nordic meanderings and Critical Minerals
This is the launch issue of canadaxeurope!
The newsletter is a mash-up of what really matters in trade, defence, and business for Canada and Europe: across the Atlantic. Containing practical insights, field notes, connections and headlines.
Canada and Sweden explored defence partnerships with SAAB, Roshel and Swebor.
Canada’s Honourable Anita Indira Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, headed to Helsinki Shipyard in Finland for the steel cutting on Canada’s Polar Max. This followed Quebec-based Chantier Davie’s acquisition of Helsinki Shipyard in 2023.
Check out Team Finland Canada for more. The Quebec government called it a “moment of pride”.
Canada tried to thread the needle of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Canadian content in Defence procurement, diversification away from the U.S. and international collaboration. Still, Canadian companies should not leave “money on the table” (French only).
Pity they couldn’t have swung down to Denmark’s DALO Days, where the Nordic defence industry gathered in critical mass! While there, Colt Canada finalized a contract for 26,000 MRR rifles, renewing a longstanding relationship in the region.
Earlier in the week, Ontario Shipyards and Algoma Steel grew their partnership with Fincantieri, Italy’s largest boat builder, cooperating on Royal Canadian Navy Corvettes.
What’s moving and shaking
The largest Defence conference in the Nordic region, DALO Days, took place this week in Copenhagen.
Registration for Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) - Europe’s largest defence trade show - is in the final stretch. We produced a preparatory guide for Canadian companies and European partners. If you’re this late, good luck with the logistics of getting to London (UK)! --There’s still time to join the Canada pavilion or one of the 20+ European delegations.
Applications to join Canada’s Trade Mission to Italy close August 29th, the mission is in October.
Canada’s United Kingdom and France FemTech - Canadian Technology Accelerator opened recruitment - closing 31 August.
In Depth Feature: the convergence of Defence, Metals and Minerals
The recent convergence of escalating military spending and the demand for critical minerals have brought diplomatic and governmental actions between Canada and Europe into the spotlight, driven by Canada’s natural resources, NATO commitments, and geopolitical tensions.
In June 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would meet NATO's newly elevated defense spending target of 5% of GDP by 2035 through investments in critical minerals development and associated infrastructure, such as ports and railroads, positioning these as dual-use assets for both economic and military purposes in partnership with the European Union and other allies.
This pledge coincided with the EU-Canada Summit in June 2025, where a joint statement emphasized collaborative efforts to secure supplies of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and graphite essential for mutual security and defense technologies, highlighting the strategic role of Canada's reserves in bolstering European autonomy amid supply chain vulnerabilities.
The EU advanced its Critical Raw Materials Act by selecting 47 Strategic Projects across member states in 2025 to accelerate domestic extraction, processing, and recycling of defense-critical materials, aiming to reduce reliance on non-EU sources like China while addressing military needs.
Meanwhile, Europe's proposed €800B defense spending plan over four years, unveiled in May 2025, has intensified concerns over the availability of strategic minerals vital for rearmament, prompting calls for enhanced transatlantic cooperation to mitigate risks.
Further deepening ties, in July and August 2025, discussions between Canada and the EU focused on leveraging European defense demand to accelerate Canadian mineral projects, with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly noting potential boosts to development timelines, and a new security and defense partnership framework established to facilitate joint initiatives.
-- We’re inviting contributors, recommendations, and ideas to make this a community-driven resource for people working in this transatlantic crosswind. --