Wait, we are sending fighter jets where? Now?
Or, many sleepers at switches
NORAD issued a post on X at 2:05 p.m. on January 19, about an operation in Greenland involving NORAD aircraft, including those from the RCAF.
The post read:
“North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) aircraft will soon arrive at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland. Along with aircraft operating from bases in the continental United States and Canada, they will support various long-planned NORAD activities, building on the enduring defense cooperation between the United States and Canada, as well as the Kingdom of Denmark. This activity has been coordinated with the Kingdom of Denmark, and all supporting forces operate with the requisite diplomatic clearances. The Government of Greenland is also informed of planned activities. NORAD routinely conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defense of North America, through one or all three NORAD regions (Alaska, Canada, and the continental U.S.).” [1]
The timing of this post appears deeply suspicious. It coincides with a Globe and Mail story the day before, sourcing unknown, that the RCAF deployed 3 CF-18s and a Cormorant Search and Rescue Helicopter for a NORAD exercise to Greenland. [2] The CBC had a similar story, with less detail, based on leaks. [3] The Globe story was not clear as to whether the RCAF units were already in Greenland, though the NORAD announcement indicates that this exercise is not yet underway.
If you read the NORAD X post carefully you will note that it talks about supporting various “long planned NORAD activities.” It does not say that the deployment itself was long planned. It does not give this deployment any specific exercise name. Odd, that. Am I splitting hairs, or does something not smell right?
Another strange thing about this NORAD deployment to Greenland is that no mention of it appears on the NORAD website. [4] Perhaps the folk at NORAD HQ in Colorado Springs missed the memo. No mention of the exercise appears on the list of current, worldwide CAF operations hosted by the Government of Canada. [5] No official notice, to the best of my knowledge, was issued by the Department of Defence or by the Minister’s Office. There is no mention of the Canadian NORAD deployment to Greenland on the official DND news site. [6] There is, however, mention dated January 19 about “construction on the Land-based test facility at Hartlen Point in Eastern passage.” [7] In case you are wondering this is a Nova Scotia based site to service the future RCN River-class destroyers.
Just how secret and last-minute was this NORAD memo anyway?
Quite apart from the fishiness of lack of prior disclosure of this NORAD deployment, there is a truly elephantine question roaming the vacant halls of Canadian government news rooms.
The question is—why on earth would Canada agree to deploy military jets to Greenland in association with the US at this juncture in time, with Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark facing dire threats of annexation or takeover, possibly even involving the use of force, from the Trump administration.
Is everyone from the Minister and his office, to DND, to the chain of command of the RCAF, asleep at the political switch?
This deployment, even if under the umbrella of NORAD, makes Canada complicit in US threats to Greenland and Denmark. Full stop. Sure, call it something completely separate, just routine NORAD stuff (maybe). That dog don’t hunt.
Imagine, for a moment, what would happen should some use of military force occur on Greenland, in the midst of these US threats, while Canadian forces were deployed to Pittufik. Canada would be complicit, even if we did not intend to be.
Imagine that the NORAD deployment is attempted to be sold as a symbol of business as usual. That won’t go down well with our European NATO allies. They know that nothing with Trump is business as usual. It shouldn’t be swallowed by the Canadian public either.
Imagine that the Carney government, listening too intently to military advice, decides it values working with the US in NORAD more highly than supporting the principle of sovereignty and the NATO collective security alliance. Imagine that we choose not to deploy symbolic forces to Greenland, alongside our European NATO partners. Do the NORAD dance instead. Terrible choice.
We should never have put ourselves in this position. Turn those planes around. CYA by saying we need to postpone.
This is officialdom asleep at the switch during a Trump caused trainwreck.
[1] North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) post on X, January 19, 2026,
[2] Robert Fife and Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail, “Canada weighs plan to send soldiers to Greenland as show of NATO solidarity,” January 18, 2026, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-soldiers-greenland-nato-training-denmark-tariffs-donald-trump/
[3] CBC News, “Carney weighs sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies: sources,” January 18, 2026, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-greenland-soldiers-trump-tariff-nato-denmark-9.7050621
[4] NORAD, The latest announcement of NORAD activity was posted on January 14 and described a “NORAD Air Defence Exercise over Southwestern Louisiana,” https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/
[5] Government of Canada, “Current Operations List,” https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/list.html/1000
[6] DND news site, https://www.canada.ca/en/news/advanced-news-search/news-results.html?_=1706187761209&typ=newsreleases&dprtmnt=departmentnationaldefense&start=&end=
[7] ibid
Hi Wesley, love your work but I think you're on target when you ask if you're "splitting hairs".
The CAF is, as usual, terrible at proactive comms. But Operation Noble Defender happens annually at this time of year, and the description of this deployment sounds exactly like that.
Gov't officials also talked about the fact that CF-18s were going to be in Greenland for already planned operations when Europe started openly discussing sending forces to Greenland a week, or so, ago. The NORAD post isn't the first public mention of this and every indication is that it's long-planned.
Whether we should have *cancelled* our participation is a separate question. But unless Denmark asks (and I assume they didn't), I think the answer to that is no. They need to be the ones making choices around actions that may create a response from Washington.
Prior apologies to anyone offended, but can we at least keep Carney's statements factual?
[Mark Carney has repeatedly emphasized Canada’s support for NATO and the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark, calling U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland a concerning escalation. Speaking in Doha, Qatar, and on social media, Carney stated that “the future of Greenland is for Greenland and Denmark alone to determine” and affirmed that NATO’s collective defense obligations under Article 5 and Article 2 remain fully in effect.
He stressed that the security of the Arctic—NATO’s northern and western flanks—is essential and that Canada strongly believes the best way to secure the region is by working together within NATO. Carney confirmed he has spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European allies to enhance the security umbrella over the Arctic, and Canada is considering sending troops to Greenland for joint NATO military exercises as a show of solidarity.
Carney also highlighted that Canada is significantly increasing Arctic security, including strengthening military presence and investing in critical infrastructure, while reiterating that sovereignty and territorial integrity are inviolable, regardless of geographic location. ]
- Brave AI search result for "mark carney statement nato greenland"..
I saw Wesley's comments on (CBC or CTV?) this evening, I watch and read a lot internationally, so I forget which.
Carney has been mentioned *very favourably* by a number of noted international persons in regard to this situation. He's walking a tightrope, and many of the EU allies know this. You don't lay your winning cards on the table until it's time to play them. There will be something in the next few days.