Mark the Warrior-Watcher

Or, a taste of Cold Response, and no response on Arctic Sentry

PM Carney visited northern Norway to witness some of the activities involved in a major NATO exercise in the Arctic region, called, fittingly, “Cold Response.” Norway hosts this exercise every two years.

This year’s version of Cold Response is among the largest exercises ever. It will run from March 9 to 19, and involves a total of 32,500 military personnel from 14 countries. The countries taking part include the Nordics plus the United States, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Turkiye, Belgium, and Canada. Of this total, 25,000 will be deployed in Norway and an additional 7,500 in neighbouring Finland. The majority will be sea and air forces; land forces number 11,800. ^[1]

DND was unable to say how many Canadian personnel would be taking part, but what we do know is that the deployment is a responsibility of the Canadian Special Forces Operations Command (or CANSOFCOM). ^[2] Canadian special forces have taken part in the past in Cold Response exercises and have also trained extensively in the Canadian Arctic. ^[3] The elite troops of JTF-2 will be at the heart of Canadian involvement in Cold Response. This unit was originally stood up (and separated from the RCMP), as a hostage rescue team, transitioned to a counter-terrorism mission after 9/11 and has taken on wider combat missions over the past two decades, including deployments in Afghanistan. With the defence policy pivot to the security and sovereignty of the Arctic, announced with the 2024 Defence policy, “Our North Strong and Free,” we can expect to see JTF-2 emerge as a leading element in Canada’s defence capabilities in the North and Arctic.

CANSOFCOM also controls other assets, including the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, a special aviation squadron, a WMD response unit, and a training centre. ^[4] Whether any of these elements have been deployed to Norway for the NATO exercise is unknown, as it is covered by security protocols. What we do know is that the specialised reconnaissance aircraft available to the command, known as the CE-145C “Vigilance,” will not be deployed to Norway.^[5] These are highly modified Beechcraft King aircraft, with intelligence gathering capacities, sold to Canada by the US. A unit of three aircraft came into the possession of the special forces command in June 2024. ^[6]

Not surprisingly, the Iran war has had an impact on the NATO exercise. Several countries have had to withdraw some units planned for Cold Response, in order to allow for deployments into the Mediterranean theatre. These include an Italian navy destroyer, a squadron of US Marine Corps F-35s, and, notably, a French aircraft carrier strike group. ^[7] Canada’s small contingent has not been affected.

It’s one thing for the Canadian military to take part in Cold Response. It’s an important NATO exercise and an important training and interoperability mission for Canada in an Arctic setting.

But what is in it for a busy Canadian Prime Minister, especially a globe-trotting one? I think there are lots of potential answers to this, on a sliding scale of significance. It gives the PM some face time with the Canadian armed forces; it underscores Canada’s commitment to Arctic security capabilities; it aligns with Canada’s desire to see NATO take its northern, or “Arctic “ flank seriously; and it reinforces a Canadian policy that seeks to project Canada’s strengthened Arctic security posture as a core capability commitment to the NATO alliance. All good.

But there remains a missing piece, one that may or may not emerge from the PM’s discussions while in Norway with the Nordic 5 leaders and the German Chancellor and Defence Minister.

This is the question of what role Canada will play in a new NATO mission called “Arctic Sentry.” ^[8] By way of background, Arctic Sentry is modelled on the existing “Baltic Sentry” operation, and designed to deploy multi-national forces to monitor and protect both the European and transatlantic Arctic—including Iceland, Greenland, and the Canadian Arctic. Arctic Sentry was stood up in February 2026 with the avowed mission to strengthen the Alliance’s Arctic deterrence capabilities, clearly threatened by Russia and Russian hybrid warfare activities. The unavowed mission was to act as a deterrent to any unilateral exercise of force by the US to seize Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of a NATO founding member, the Kingdom of Denmark, and to demonstrate to the Trump administration that NATO has the collective capacity to defend the Arctic against threats. It’s the old doctrine come alive again, of “defence against help.”

Arctic Sentry’s HQ will be at Norfolk, UK, distant from the Arctic, but equidistant from the European and North Atlantic reaches of the far north. Several NATO countries have announced commitments, some, like Denmark and Norway, involving folding exercises into the Arctic Sentry mission. Other commitments involve hard power military capabilities—F-35s from Denmark to Greenland; Swedish Gripen fighter jets for air patrol from Iceland; German Eurofighters and an air-to-air-refueling aircraft. ^[9] The UK has committed a carrier strike force to the region, a commitment that seemingly still remains, despite some calls for HMS Prince of Wales to be re-deployed to the Mediterranean because of the Iran war. ^[10]

The Canadian commitment to Arctic Sentry? TBD. According to a response from DND:

“The CAF is working closely with its Arctic and NATO allies to determine how it can best support this activity and synchronize Canada’s Arctic initiatives with those of our NATO allies. Aligning the CAF’s Arctic efforts with enhanced Vigilance Activity ARCTIC SENTRY will contribute to NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts, further reinforcing collective security and resilience across the Alliance and the Arctic.” ^[11]

All good, but maybe the PM or the Minister of National Defence, David McGuinty, who is accompanying him in Norway, will move beyond “determining” and “synchronizing” to spell out the Canadian commitment, one where Canada should be a lead NATO state.

New flash—just in. Nothing on Arctic Sentry at the news conference with the Norwegian PM and the German Chancellor. ^[12]

Oh well.

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^[1] Norwegian Armed Forces, “Cold Response 2026, “ https://www.forsvaret.no/en/exercises-and-operations/exercises/cr26

^[2] DND media response to the author, March 11, 2026

^[3] DND, News release, “CANSOFCOM in the Arctic—Exercising in pursuit of excellence,” November 27, 2025, https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/maple-leaf/defence/2025/11/cansofcom-arctic-exercising-pursuit-excellence.html

^[4] Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, Organizational structure, https://www.canada.ca/en/special-operations-forces-command/corporate/organizational-structure.html

^[5] DND media response to the author

^[6] Government of Canada, “Manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/acquisitions/defence-marine/air/manned-airborne-intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance.html

^[7] Defense News. “Nations Withdraw some equipment from NATO Arctic Exercise amid Iran fallout,” March 12, 2026, https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/03/12/nations-withdraw-some-equipment-from-nato-arctic-exercise-amid-iran-fallout/

^[8] NATO, “Arctic Security,” February 16, 2026, https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/deterrence-and-defence/arctic-security

^[9] Lukas Wahden, “What’s Behind NATO’s new Arctic mission?” March 5, 2026, Arctic Today, https://www.arctictoday.com/whats-behind-natos-new-arctic-mission/#:~:text=Actual%20commitments%20of%20allied%20capabilities,Arctic%20Sentry%2C%20as%20did%20Norway.

^[10] Naval News, “UK Carrier Strike Group to deploy to the North Atlantic,” February 15, 2026, https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/02/uk-carrier-strike-group-to-deploy-to-north-atlantic/

BBC “UK Aircraft Carrier given five days to be ready to deploy,” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39w2nj1rk8o

^[11] DND media response to the author, March 11, 2026

^[12]