Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand in Nuuk, Greenland, February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
February 06, 2026
ALTERNET
Since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House, the United States' relations with Canada have deteriorated considerably. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is making it abundantly clear that he has no desire for Canada to become "the 51st state," and he is highly critical of Trump's push for a U.S. takeover of Greenland.
Carney, during a speech at the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in January, lamented that a "rupture" has occurred in relations between the U.S. and its longtime North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. And Trump was so offended by Carney's comments that he withdrew his invitation for Canada to join his new Board of Peace.
Now, Canada's expression of solidarity with Greenland is escalating with the Friday, February 6 opening of a new Canadian consulate in Nuuk, the Danish territory's capital city.
The opening, according to The Independent's Brendan Rascius, signals "stronger diplomatic ties" between Canada and Greenland "as President Donald Trump pursues his bid to acquire the Arctic island."
Rascius notes that although the new Canadian Consulate in Nuuk "had been in the works for over a year," the opening "comes during a period of heightened tension between the Trump Administration and Greenland, Denmark and other NATO allies."
Nuuk Mayor Avaaraq Olsen is quoted as saying, "It's really important for us to know that we are not alone in this, that we actually have people from other countries who care about us. People are scared and they are more and more concerned. Because of Trump's statements, they get very worse and worse."
The opening is generating a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter.
CBC reporter Olivia Stefanovich tweeted, "A delegation of 65 Inuit are travelling to Greenland with Makivvik for the official opening of the Canadian consulate in the capital Nuuk. They say they're going to stand in solidarity with Kalaallit, Greenlandic Inuit, amidst threats from U.S. President Donald Trump."
Stefanovich also posted, "Every passenger on board Air Inuit has flags from Canada and Greenland to celebrate the official opening of the Canadian consulate in Nuuk on Friday."
Bloomberg News noted, "Canada and France will open consulates in Greenland on Friday, underscoring NATO allies' heightened interest in the region after Donald Trump asserted his desire to see the US to take control of the island."
Al Jazeera English described the consulate as a "strong show of support for NATO ally Denmark…. in the wake of US efforts to secure control of the Arctic island."
Toronto-based Dr. Raghu Venugopal, a board member for Médecins Sans Frontières Canada (Doctors Without Borders Canada), tweeted, "Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Governor General Mary Simon and a delegation of Canadian Inuit today open the new Canadian Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland. A proud day for Canada — standing up to American aggression and bottomless greed."
In show of support, Canada, France open consulates in Greenland
By AFP
February 5, 2026
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark - Copyright AFP Ina FASSBENDER
Camille BAS-WOHLERT, with Nioucha ZAKAVATI in Nuuk
Canada and France, which both adamantly oppose Donald Trump’s wish to control Greenland, will open consulates in the Danish autonomous territory’s capital on Friday, in a strong show of support for the local government.
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons.
The US president last month backed off his threats to seize Greenland after saying he had struck a “framework” deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence.
A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss ways to meet Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic, but the details of the talks have not been made public.
While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump’s security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a “red line” in the discussions.
“In a sense, it’s a victory for Greenlanders to see two allies opening diplomatic representations in Nuuk,” said Jeppe Strandsbjerg, a political scientist at the University of Greenland.
“There is great appreciation for the support against what Trump has said.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Paris’s plans to open a consulate during a visit to Nuuk in June, where he expressed Europe’s “solidarity” with Greenland and criticised Trump’s ambitions.
The newly-appointed French consul, Jean-Noel Poirier, has previously served as ambassador to Vietnam.
Canada meanwhile announced in late 2024 that it would open a consulate in Greenland to boost cooperation.
The opening of the consulates is “a way of telling Donald Trump that his aggression against Greenland and Denmark is not a question for Greenland and Denmark alone, it’s also a question for European allies and also for Canada as an ally, as a friend of Greenland and the European allies also,” Ulrik Pram Gad, Arctic expert at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP.
“It’s a small step, part of a strategy where we are making this problem European,” said Christine Nissen, security and defence analyst at the Europa think tank.
“The consequences are obviously not just Danish. It’s European and global.”
– Recognition –
According to Strandsbjerg, the two consulates — which will be attached to the French and Canadian embassies in Copenhagen — will give Greenland an opportunity to “practice” at being independent, as the island has long dreamt of cutting its ties to Denmark one day.
The decision to open diplomatic missions is also a recognition of Greenland’s growing autonomy, laid out in its 2009 Self-Government Act, Nissen said.
“In terms of their own quest for sovereignty, the Greenlandic people will think to have more direct contact with other European countries,” she said.
That would make it possible to reduce Denmark’s role “by diversifying Greenland’s dependence on the outside world, so that it is not solely dependent on Denmark and can have more ties for its economy, trade, investments, politics and so on”, echoed Pram Gad.
Greenland has had diplomatic ties with the European Union since 1992, with Washington since 2014 and with Iceland since 2017.
Iceland opened its consulate in Nuuk in 2013, while the United States, which had a consulate in the Greenlandic capital from 1940 to 1953, reopened its mission in 2020.
The European Commission opened its office in 2024.
By AFP
February 5, 2026
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark - Copyright AFP Ina FASSBENDER
Camille BAS-WOHLERT, with Nioucha ZAKAVATI in Nuuk
Canada and France, which both adamantly oppose Donald Trump’s wish to control Greenland, will open consulates in the Danish autonomous territory’s capital on Friday, in a strong show of support for the local government.
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons.
The US president last month backed off his threats to seize Greenland after saying he had struck a “framework” deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater American influence.
A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss ways to meet Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic, but the details of the talks have not been made public.
While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump’s security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a “red line” in the discussions.
“In a sense, it’s a victory for Greenlanders to see two allies opening diplomatic representations in Nuuk,” said Jeppe Strandsbjerg, a political scientist at the University of Greenland.
“There is great appreciation for the support against what Trump has said.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Paris’s plans to open a consulate during a visit to Nuuk in June, where he expressed Europe’s “solidarity” with Greenland and criticised Trump’s ambitions.
The newly-appointed French consul, Jean-Noel Poirier, has previously served as ambassador to Vietnam.
Canada meanwhile announced in late 2024 that it would open a consulate in Greenland to boost cooperation.
The opening of the consulates is “a way of telling Donald Trump that his aggression against Greenland and Denmark is not a question for Greenland and Denmark alone, it’s also a question for European allies and also for Canada as an ally, as a friend of Greenland and the European allies also,” Ulrik Pram Gad, Arctic expert at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP.
“It’s a small step, part of a strategy where we are making this problem European,” said Christine Nissen, security and defence analyst at the Europa think tank.
“The consequences are obviously not just Danish. It’s European and global.”
– Recognition –
According to Strandsbjerg, the two consulates — which will be attached to the French and Canadian embassies in Copenhagen — will give Greenland an opportunity to “practice” at being independent, as the island has long dreamt of cutting its ties to Denmark one day.
The decision to open diplomatic missions is also a recognition of Greenland’s growing autonomy, laid out in its 2009 Self-Government Act, Nissen said.
“In terms of their own quest for sovereignty, the Greenlandic people will think to have more direct contact with other European countries,” she said.
That would make it possible to reduce Denmark’s role “by diversifying Greenland’s dependence on the outside world, so that it is not solely dependent on Denmark and can have more ties for its economy, trade, investments, politics and so on”, echoed Pram Gad.
Greenland has had diplomatic ties with the European Union since 1992, with Washington since 2014 and with Iceland since 2017.
Iceland opened its consulate in Nuuk in 2013, while the United States, which had a consulate in the Greenlandic capital from 1940 to 1953, reopened its mission in 2020.
The European Commission opened its office in 2024.
Greenland villagers focus on ‘normal life’ amid stress of US threat
By AFP
February 6, 2026
Dorthe Olsen holds up traditional clothing at her home in Sarfannguit
By AFP
February 6, 2026
Dorthe Olsen holds up traditional clothing at her home in Sarfannguit
- Copyright ${image.metadata.node.credit}
Nioucha ZAKAVATI
Proudly showing off photographs on her tablet of her grandson’s first hunt, Dorthe Olsen refuses to let the turmoil sparked by US president Donald Trump take over her life in a small hamlet nestled deep in a Greenland fjord.
Sarfannguit, founded in 1843, is located 36 kilometres (22 miles) east of Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-biggest town, and is accessible by boat in summer and snowmobile or dogsled in winter if the ice freezes.
The settlement has just under 100 residents, most of whom live off from hunting and fishing.
On this February day, only the wind broke the deafening silence, whipping across the scattering of small colourful houses.
Most of them looked empty. At the end of a gravel road, a few children played outdoors, rosy-cheeked in the bitter cold, one wearing a Spiderman woolly hat.
“Everything is very calm here in Sarfannguit,” said Olsen, a 49-year-old teacher, welcoming AFP into her home for coffee and traditional homemade pastries and cakes.
In the background, a giant flat screen showed a football match from England’s Premier League.
Olsen told AFP of the tears of pride she shed when her grandson killed his first caribou at age 11, preferring to talk about her family than about Trump.
The US president has repeatedly threatened to seize the mineral-rich island, an autonomous territory of Denmark, alleging that Copenhagen is not doing enough to protect it from Russia and China.
He nevertheless climbed down last month and agreed to negotiations.
Greenland’s health and disability minister, Anna Wangenheim, recently advised Greenlanders to spend time with their families and focus on their traditions, as a means of coping with the psychological stress caused by Trump’s persistent threats.
The US leader’s rhetoric “has impacted a lot of people’s emotions during many weeks”, Wangenheim told AFP in Nuuk.
– ‘Powerless’ –
Olsen insisted that the geopolitical crisis — pitting NATO allies against each other in what is the military alliance’s deepest crisis in years — “doesn’t really matter”.
“I know that Greenlanders can survive this,” she said.
Is she not worried about what would happen to her and her neighbours if the worst were to happen — a US invasion — especially given her settlement’s remote location?
“Of course I worry about those who live in the settlements,” she said.
“If there’s going to be a war and you are on a settlement, of course you feel powerless about that.”
The only thing to do is go on living as normally as possible, she said, displaying Greenland’s spirit of resilience.
That’s the message she tries to give her students, who get most of their news from TikTok.
“We tell them to just live the normal life that we live in the settlement and tell them it’s important to do that.”
The door opened. It was her husband returning from the day’s hunt, a large plastic bag in hand containing a skinned seal.
Olsen cut the liver into small pieces, offering it with bloodstained fingers to friends and family gathered around the table.
“It’s my granddaughter’s favourite part,” she explained.
Fishing and hunting account for more than 90 percent of Greenland’s exports.
– No private property –
Back in Sisimiut after a day out seal hunting on his boat, accompanied by AFP, Karl-Jorgen Enoksen stressed the importance of nature and his profession in Greenland.
He still can’t get over the fact that an ally like the United States could become so hostile towards his country.
“It’s worrying and I can’t believe it’s happening. We’re just trying to live the way we always have,” the 47-year-old said.
The notion of private property is alien to Inuit culture, characterised by communal sharing and a deep connection to the land.
“In Greenlandic tradition, our hunting places aren’t owned. And when there are other hunters on the land we are hunting on, they can just join the hunt,” he explained.
“If the US ever bought us, I can for example imagine that our hunting places would be bought.”
“I simply just can’t imagine that,” he said, recalling that his livelihood is already threatened by climate change.
He doesn’t want to see his children “inherit a bad nature — nature that we have loved being in — if they are going to buy us”.
“That’s why it is we who are supposed to take care of OUR land.”
Nioucha ZAKAVATI
Proudly showing off photographs on her tablet of her grandson’s first hunt, Dorthe Olsen refuses to let the turmoil sparked by US president Donald Trump take over her life in a small hamlet nestled deep in a Greenland fjord.
Sarfannguit, founded in 1843, is located 36 kilometres (22 miles) east of Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-biggest town, and is accessible by boat in summer and snowmobile or dogsled in winter if the ice freezes.
The settlement has just under 100 residents, most of whom live off from hunting and fishing.
On this February day, only the wind broke the deafening silence, whipping across the scattering of small colourful houses.
Most of them looked empty. At the end of a gravel road, a few children played outdoors, rosy-cheeked in the bitter cold, one wearing a Spiderman woolly hat.
“Everything is very calm here in Sarfannguit,” said Olsen, a 49-year-old teacher, welcoming AFP into her home for coffee and traditional homemade pastries and cakes.
In the background, a giant flat screen showed a football match from England’s Premier League.
Olsen told AFP of the tears of pride she shed when her grandson killed his first caribou at age 11, preferring to talk about her family than about Trump.
The US president has repeatedly threatened to seize the mineral-rich island, an autonomous territory of Denmark, alleging that Copenhagen is not doing enough to protect it from Russia and China.
He nevertheless climbed down last month and agreed to negotiations.
Greenland’s health and disability minister, Anna Wangenheim, recently advised Greenlanders to spend time with their families and focus on their traditions, as a means of coping with the psychological stress caused by Trump’s persistent threats.
The US leader’s rhetoric “has impacted a lot of people’s emotions during many weeks”, Wangenheim told AFP in Nuuk.
– ‘Powerless’ –
Olsen insisted that the geopolitical crisis — pitting NATO allies against each other in what is the military alliance’s deepest crisis in years — “doesn’t really matter”.
“I know that Greenlanders can survive this,” she said.
Is she not worried about what would happen to her and her neighbours if the worst were to happen — a US invasion — especially given her settlement’s remote location?
“Of course I worry about those who live in the settlements,” she said.
“If there’s going to be a war and you are on a settlement, of course you feel powerless about that.”
The only thing to do is go on living as normally as possible, she said, displaying Greenland’s spirit of resilience.
That’s the message she tries to give her students, who get most of their news from TikTok.
“We tell them to just live the normal life that we live in the settlement and tell them it’s important to do that.”
The door opened. It was her husband returning from the day’s hunt, a large plastic bag in hand containing a skinned seal.
Olsen cut the liver into small pieces, offering it with bloodstained fingers to friends and family gathered around the table.
“It’s my granddaughter’s favourite part,” she explained.
Fishing and hunting account for more than 90 percent of Greenland’s exports.
– No private property –
Back in Sisimiut after a day out seal hunting on his boat, accompanied by AFP, Karl-Jorgen Enoksen stressed the importance of nature and his profession in Greenland.
He still can’t get over the fact that an ally like the United States could become so hostile towards his country.
“It’s worrying and I can’t believe it’s happening. We’re just trying to live the way we always have,” the 47-year-old said.
The notion of private property is alien to Inuit culture, characterised by communal sharing and a deep connection to the land.
“In Greenlandic tradition, our hunting places aren’t owned. And when there are other hunters on the land we are hunting on, they can just join the hunt,” he explained.
“If the US ever bought us, I can for example imagine that our hunting places would be bought.”
“I simply just can’t imagine that,” he said, recalling that his livelihood is already threatened by climate change.
He doesn’t want to see his children “inherit a bad nature — nature that we have loved being in — if they are going to buy us”.
“That’s why it is we who are supposed to take care of OUR land.”
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