The people of Greenland are hoping Canada has their back as they continue to face threats of annexation from the U.S., says Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, speaking to CBC News at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City on Tuesday, says the people of Greenland are looking to Canada for support as they continue to face threats of annexation by the U.S. (Jason Burles/CBC - image credit)
Simon, a former ambassador to Denmark and Canada’s first ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, says she has spoken with Greenlanders who feel “uneasy” about U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated desire to make their territory part of the U.S.
“They feel that they need a lot of support from Canada in terms of making sure that they don’t stop their relationship with Denmark in any way whatsoever,” Simon told CBC News.
“They’re also nervous about what they hear in the media because it changes from day to day sometimes. People say they are trying to live normally, like in other countries, but they still think about it a lot.”
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark which manages most of its own domestic affairs, while Copenhagen controls its foreign policy and defence.
It has a population of some 56,000, about 90 per cent of which is of Inuit or mixed Inuit and Danish descent.
Deepening ties with Mexico
Simon, who is Inuk and Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, spoke with CBC News Tuesday while on the tail-end of a two-day visit in Mexico City.
She met with representatives from several Indigenous nations on Monday and with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday.
“I was very pleased to meet with the president of Mexico. I think she’s a fantastic individual and she has made Indigenous issues a priority in her mandate,” said Simon.
Simon said her visit aimed to deepen ties between Canada and Mexico and build on the foundation laid by Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met with Sheinbaum in Mexico last September.
The Carney government has made deepening ties with Mexico a priority. Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is leading a major trade mission to Mexico next month.
Canada and Mexico are also part of continental trade agreement with the U.S. known as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which is currently under review for renewal.
“There’s a lot of areas that we are going to be continuing our work together — especially in light of the CUSMA discussions coming on fairly soon. It’s really important to keep our bilateral relations with Mexico on a very strong front,” said Simon.
“I think it’s really important for me to help advance our ongoing work … It’s been a very fruitful trip and I hope I’ve engaged enough so I can help advance our collective priorities between Canada and Mexico."
'Hope in the future'
Her meeting with Sheinbaum came just hours after Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that offered a stark description of a world order now dominated by the whims of major powers.
Carney said middle-power countries — like Canada and Mexico — faced a choice to either “compete with each other for favour or to combine to create a third path.”
Carney also said Canada stands “firmly with Greenland and Denmark.”
Simon says she believes Canadians should read Carney’s Davos speech in full.
“I would encourage Canadians to read the speech and understand the position that Canada is taking in this very … difficult world that we live in today,” said Simon.
Simon is scheduled to travel to Nuuk, Greenland, next month with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to open a Canadian consulate.
She is also scheduled to deliver a speech during a conference in Norway during the same trip.
(NUUK DURING THE THREE DAYS OF SUMMER!)
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