BRUSSELS: The “resilient” Nato alliance can weather criticism from US President Donald Trump and remains crucial to underpinning Western security in the face of Russia, Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Monday.

“Nato as a defensive alliance committed to collective security could never be more important than it is today,” Anand said in an interview in Brussels.

Canada’s top diplomat was meeting counterparts from the EU’s 27 nations in the latest demonstration of deepening ties as Trump has rocked the global order. Ottawa has been stepping up ties with the EU and other key partners as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to increase cooperation between “middle powers”.

“The EU is an extremely important facet of Canada’s work to diversify trade, and we will continue to build supply chains, to build trading relationships so that we double non-US trade over the next 10 years,” she said.

“That ultimately has to be our goal, as we see a complete rewiring of the global trading order.” Anand — who was also holding talks with Nato chief Mark Rutte — pushed back against the notion that Trump had fatally undermined the defence alliance. “Not at all — Nato is a resilient alliance,” she said.

“It is reasonable for member states to have differing opinions, but the resilience of the organisation means that we come together, have difficult conversations, and emerge from those conversations committed to collective defence and security.” Trump has shaken the 77-year-old alliance as he has castigated European allies for their response to his war with Iran.

Washington frayed nerves in Europe by saying it would pull 5,000 troops from Germany amid a dispute between Trump and Chancellor Friederich Merz.

Anand pointed at areas such as tackling Russian activities in the Arctic as important for Nato’s focus — and a region where her country has a major role to play.

Nato has stepped up on the Arctic region as part of a deal with Trump to get him to drop his designs on Denmark’s territory of Greenland.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026