Liberals commit almost $350 million to deter threat of Russian aggression

The Trudeau government has set aside $348.6 million over the next three years for the deployment of a Canadian battle group in the Baltic States and ongoing air and sea patrols to counter the threat of Russian aggression on Europe's eastern flank.

The Liberals have also renewed funding to support security forces and development assistance in Afghanistan until 2021.

How much of the $465 million will be spent to prop up Afghan army and police units and how much has been earmarked for relief and capacity building is not clear.

The figures were released this week as part of Finance Minister Bill Morneau's fiscal update and are measures that have come up since the federal budget was tabled last spring.

• French attacks help propel Canada to NATO front line
• It's not your grandfather's Cold War, officials insist

Last summer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed Canada to leading one of NATO's four high-readiness, multi-national battalions that will be positioned along the Russian border.

As many as 455 troops, armoured vehicles and a headquarters contingent are slated to deploy to Latvia in the new year. The Canadians will be joined in their sector by Italian, Albanian, Polish and Slovenian forces.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan visited the Latvian capital of Riga at the end of October to meet officials and to see the airbase where Canadian troops will be stationed.

Reassurance after Ukraine

The former Conservative government, in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea, committed an army company — approximately 200 troops — to joining a series of regular NATO exercises in eastern Europe as a show of solidarity with jittery allies.

It also deployed a frigate to join one of the alliance's two standing naval task forces, and sent a flight of CF-18s jet fighters to patrol the skies over the Baltic states, which do not have their own air forces.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government stopped short of re-establishing a permanent military base in Europe, opting instead for what officials describe as a persistent training deployment.

The decision by Trudeau's government will see multiple rotations of Canadian troops cycling through Latvia until at least the end of the 2019-2020 budget year.

Simmering tension

There is deepening tension in the region.

Lithuania, one of the three Baltic states and a former Soviet republic, issued a 75-page civil defence guide on how to survive a Russian invasion. The booklet warned the public to call a government hotline if they suspect someone of being a spy, and also provides a tutorial on how to spot Russian tanks and mines.

Nearby Estonia has stepped up training for the tiny country's defence league, giving citizens instruction on how to become insurgents.

The political tension has not affected Canadian troops, who are conducting training in nearby Poland, the contingent commander said Wednesday.

"I would say we're focused on our job," said Maj. Lonnie Campbell, who leads troops from the Edmonton-based 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. "We focus on doing the things we need to do well. The rest of it is peripheral to our consideration."