Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Brussels next month amid escalating tensions between him and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trudeau formally announced Monday that he will attend , where he plans to discuss 鈥渢rans-Atlantic security issues and challenges with other NATO leaders.鈥�
Weeks ahead of the summit, Trump sent Trudeau a letter calling on Canada to increase its defence spending on NATO. that Trump鈥檚 letter expressed 鈥済rowing frustration鈥� in the U.S. over what Trump perceives to be a lack of defence spending by NATO allies.
In the past, Trump has publicly berated NATO allies for not increasing their spending. More recently, he has attacked Trudeau and Canada in an ongoing trade spat, after slapping tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Over the weekend, Trump also threatened 鈥渞eciprocity鈥� against trade partners who have imposed or are planning to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
At the Brussels summit, NATO leaders are expected to discuss modernization of the alliance and NATO鈥檚 relationship with Russia, among other topics.
