The next stop on Donald Trump’s world tour—or takeover—may be America’s northern neighbor.
The president, 79, has turned his attention toward Canada, fixating on what he sees as vulnerabilities along its northern border that could be exploited by U.S. adversaries Russia or China, two U.S. officials, a senior administration official, and three former senior U.S. officials told NBC News.
“They certainly need to up their game when it comes to Arctic capabilities,” one official told the outlet, adding that Canada’s northern border “is not acceptable given today’s threats” and that “the status quo is not enough.”
Trump has repeatedly complained about what he views as Canada’s weak defenses, sparking conversations with Canadian officials about a broader Arctic security strategy, NBC reported. Among the initiatives that have caught Trump’s interest are expanded U.S. maritime patrols and the purchase of additional icebreakers—specialized ships designed to operate in ice-covered waters—operating in or around Canadian territory.
“Trump is really worried about the U.S. continuing to drift in the Western Hemisphere and is focused on this,” one official told NBC.
They added: “At the end of the day, this is to stop Russia and China from having a further presence in the Arctic.”
With 3.85 million square miles and 40 million residents, Canada is the largest target on Trump’s growing list of potential land grabs.
The conversations come as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, signaling an effort to deepen ties between the two countries. Carney became the first Canadian leader to visit China since 2017.
Trump’s fixation on Canada, aides say, is part of a broader effort to “solidify” the Western Hemisphere—and falls in line with his aggressive campaign to acquire Greenland, the semiautonomous Danish territory.
“Canada stands to benefit from the U.S. having Greenland,” one administration official said.
Carney on Friday voiced support for Denmark’s NATO membership and said Greenland—home to roughly 57,000 residents and located northeast of Canada—should determine its own future.
Trump’s increasingly frequent assertions that “We do need Greenland, absolutely,” for defense purposes, have rattled Denmark, whose leaders have repeatedly warned they will not give up the world’s largest island, and that an American takeover would end NATO.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller asserted on Saturday that under “the law,” nations were not entitled to their territory if they were unable to defend it. The Trump aide belittled the Danish government, saying its “tiny” military was failing to adequately protect Greenland.
“With respect to Denmark, Denmark is a tiny country with a tiny economy, and a tiny military,” Miller said of Fox’s Hannity.
“They cannot defend Greenland. They cannot control the territory of Greenland. Under every understanding of law that has existed about territorial control for 500 years, to control a territory you have to be able to defend a territory, improve territory, inhabit a territory. Denmark has failed on every single one of these tests.”
Meanwhile, officials told NBC that the White House has voiced similar criticisms of Canada, which has increased its defense spending but continues to fall short of NATO’s goal.
“The world doesn’t see Canada as a major force when it comes to defense,” the official told NBC.
Trump has previously said “it’s highly unlikely” he would use military force against Canada. But after his shock invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of then-President Nicholas Maduro on Jan. 3., the president has not ruled out deploying U.S. military troops to countries including Colombia, U.S. ally Mexico, and Greenland.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and to Carney’s representatives for comment.
