Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks, told press at the NATO Summit in Madrid that his country and Canada have signed a bi-lateral agreement to increase Canadian troop levels from a battalion to a full brigade, as alluded to by General Secretary Stoltenberg’s announcement yesterday that the alliance will pursue a 300,000 troop goal on its Eastern Flank.

Currently, Canada maintains a 900 man force at Camp Adazi, a Western alliance military base and training range located 25 kilometres outside Riga, Latvia’s capital. As part of Operation Reassurance, the Canadian mission in Eastern Europe, these newly deployed forces will nearly triple the number of Canadian soldiers to about 3,000 to lead the NATO Battle Group there.

Operation Reassurance is the largest international deployment of Canadian troops and has been there since 2016, in various sizes and strength, including F/A-18s and other aircraft.

On May 12, 2022, Canada deployed a general and six staff officers to take charge of the NATO Battle Group in Latvia.