By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Germany on Wednesday to participate in the Munich Security Conference as Ottawa seeks to strengthen its security and defense partnerships amid growing global uncertainty, said a statement.
"To strengthen and expand Canada's defense partnerships, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, today announced that he will travel to Munich, Germany from February 11 to 15, 2026 to participate in the Munich Security Conference," the Prime Minister's Office said Tuesday.
The statement said Carney will share progress on Canada's efforts to rapidly scale up defense readiness, including building sovereign capabilities to defend the Arctic and NATO’s northern and western flanks.
"The world is in the midst of a rupture, and the rules-based international order we once knew is fading," the statement said, adding that Canada is pursuing a "principled and pragmatic approach" focused on strengthening defense capabilities at home and diversifying economic and security partnerships abroad.
While in Munich, Carney will also meet with business leaders to promote Canada as a destination for global capital and investment, particularly in critical minerals, energy and advanced technologies.
“Nostalgia is not a strategy. We must see the world as it is, not wait for a world we wish to be," Carney said in the statement, adding "to that end, Canada is focused on building our defense capabilities – to strengthen our security, create greater prosperity, and reinforce our sovereignty."
In a post on the US social media company X’s platform, Foreign Affairs Canada said Minister Anita Anand will join the prime minister at the conference and is expected to meet with her counterparts and participate in panels on Arctic security, Ukraine's sovereignty and Canada’s defense partnerships.
The three-day event, one of the world’s most prominent forums on international security, will be held from Feb. 13-15 in the southeastern German city of Munich.
Organizers expect over 200 senior government representatives from approximately 120 countries at the 62nd Munich conference—including more than 60 heads of state and government, over 65 foreign ministers, over 30 defense ministers, and senior representatives from more than 40 international organizations.
The conference opens Friday morning, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in his first appearance in that role.