Defence Minister David McGuinty signed the formal text at the Munich Security Conference on 14 February 2026.
"Our reliable security-building partner is the first non-European country to join SAFE and deepen our defence ties.".
Polish MEP Borys Budka framed the vote as a statement about the new architecture of transatlantic defence.
As of March 2026, the Commission had approved the national defence investment plans of 18 member states, including Czechia and France.
McGuinty described the opportunities as "enormous" and said the deal would "catalyse massive private investment" in the Canadian defence industry.
The February 2026 Defence Industrial Strategy commits 70% of federal defence contracts to Canadian firms within a decade.
But they are products of the same set of decisions being made in Brussels about where Europe's partnerships are going. »