Foreign affairs minister to open consulate in Greenland today

NUUK — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand arrived in Greenland’s capital Nuuk on Friday to officially open Canada’s new consulate.

The consulate has been operating quietly for several weeks but a ceremonial opening is scheduled to take place Friday afternoon.

Ottawa first pledged to launch the new diplomatic mission in December 2024, well before U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his threats to annex the Danish territory.

Anand will raise a Canadian flag at the consulate, which has sparked hopes for more collaboration on climate change, Inuit rights and defence.

“I am en route to Nuuk for the opening of Canada’s new consulate — strengthening Canada’s presence, partnerships, and leadership in the Arctic,” Anand posted on social media Friday morning before she landed in Greenland.

She was in Copenhagen on Thursday where she met withDanish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, before flying to Nuuk.

Anand will be joined at the opening ceremony by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Canada’s Arctic Ambassador Virginia Mearns, both of whom are Inuit.

The Inuit organization Makivvik sent a plane filled with dozens of Inuit from northern Quebec and elsewhere in Canada to attend the opening and show solidarity with Greenlanders.

Not far from the Canadian consulate sits the Port of Nuuk, where Ottawa has sent a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker. Anand has said that ship is meant to signal Ottawa’s support for Greenland’s territorial integrity.

Trump has demanded U.S. control of Greenland and only recently backed down from threats to use force to acquire the Danish territory.

Steven Arnfjord, a professor the University of Greenland, said Trump’s repeated threats have annoyed many and scared some in the autonomous territory.

“It’s been quite awful for a lot of people,” he said.

“There are definitely some people, the elderly and people that don’t follow general news, that are anxious, nervous, afraid of the future — that sort of thing.”

Arnfjord, who runs the Centre for Arctic Welfare, said American offers of cash to acquire the territory do not resonate with locals, who value their social safety net.

“The level of trust and investment in a good welfare system, the benefits from that sort of thing — that’s something that you can’t supplement with a lump sum of money,” he said.

He recalled seeing dire treatment of Indigenous people while visiting Alaska in 2022, with many homeless and a seeming lack of public acknowledgment of the effects of colonization.

“That’s not something that will be tolerated in Greenland.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2026.