Canada and France opening consulates in Greenland’s capital amid Trump push
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Canada opened its consulate in Greenland’s capital and the first French consul arrived on Danish soil on Friday, following the Trump administration’s efforts to seize the island.
“I am traveling to Nuuk for the opening of Canada’s new consulate, strengthening Canada’s presence, partnerships and leadership in the Arctic,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand X wrote on Friday morning.
He was also joined by Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon.
Canada had previously announced that the consulate would be built in 2024, but its opening in 2025 was postponed due to weather conditions.
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Members of the Canadian diaspora gathered outside the Canadian consulate following its official opening in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday. (Florent Vergnes/AFP via Getty Images)
“The future of the Arctic belongs to the people of the Arctic. Tomorrow I will visit Denmark and then Greenland,” Simon said in a speech earlier this week. “Let me be clear, Canada strongly supports the people of Greenland as they determine their own future.”
The French government said in a statement that Jean-Noël Poirier also came to Nuuk on Friday to become the first French Consul General of Greenland.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the opening of a Nuuk consulate in June, making it the first European Union country to establish a consulate in Greenland.
A physical French consulate does not yet exist.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand (right) speaks to the media after the flag was raised at the new Canadian consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
“Deep ties of friendship and important joint projects already bind France, Denmark and Greenland, allowing all parties to look forward with enthusiasm and confidence to the opening of this new consulate general,” the French government said. he said.
“France reiterates its commitment to respect the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” the statement said.
While President Donald Trump has insisted on purchasing Greenland, administration officials have claimed that Denmark cannot defend the semi-autonomous island.
“Greenland is a quarter the size of the United States,” senior White House aide Stephen Miller told Fox News last month. “From the Danish perspective, Denmark is a small country with a small economy and a small army. They cannot defend Greenland, they cannot control Greenlandic territory.”
Demonstrators in Greenland are marching to protest the Trump administration’s efforts to seize the island in January. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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In January, Trump threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on eight European countries, including France and Denmark, that would rise to 25 percent in June if they did not allow the United States to buy Greenland.
The president withdrew his tariff threat after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which Trump said a “framework” for reaching an agreement on security in the Arctic had been reached.
The United States reopened its consulate in Greenland in 2020 after closing it in 1953.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
