Trump claims Canada opposes ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence plan over Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Canada is opposing the possible construction of his proposed ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system over Greenland, despite what he claimed would be security benefits for Canada.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Canada was “against the Golden Dome being built over Greenland, even though the Golden Dome would protect Canada.”

He added that Ottawa had instead chosen to deepen economic ties with China, warning that Beijing would “eat them up within the first year.”

Trump appeared to be referring to Canada’s recent announcement that it had reached a trade agreement in principle with China.

The deal would ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for Beijing relaxing restrictions on Canadian agricultural exports.

Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024 in coordination with the U.S., citing concerns over market dumping, the sale of heavily subsidised products at artificially low prices to dominate foreign markets.

Relations between Washington and Ottawa have deteriorated since Trump returned to office in January.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pushed back against U.S. tariffs imposed during Trump’s first year and rejected repeated remarks by Trump suggesting Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.

Amid the strained ties, Trump said on Thursday that he was withdrawing Canada’s invitation to join his proposed “Board of Peace,” a move widely seen as retaliation for comments made by Carney at the World Economic Forum.

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• Why Greenland matters: Geography, security and financial value

At the forum, Carney warned that economic integration was increasingly being used as a geopolitical tool. “Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” he said.

What is the ‘Golden Dome’?

Trump’s comments refer to the ‘Golden Dome’, a proposed U.S. missile defence initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive, multi-layered shield to protect the United States from a wide range of missile threats, including ballistic, cruise and hypersonic weapons.

The concept is often compared to Israel’s Iron Dome, but on a far larger and more complex scale, covering an entire continent rather than a limited geographic area.

It would combine land-based interceptor systems, advanced radar networks, early-warning infrastructure and space-based sensors to detect, track and destroy incoming missiles at different stages of flight.

Supporters say the project would significantly strengthen U.S. homeland defence at a time of rising global tensions and rapid advances in missile technology by rival powers.

Critics, however, argue that the system would be extremely costly, technologically challenging and could fuel a new arms race by prompting adversaries to develop more advanced offensive capabilities to bypass it.

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