The Canadian military will command a new NATO training and capacity building mission in Iraq for its first year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in Brussels on Wednesday as part of the annual alliance summit.

Trudeau said the mission, to begin in the fall of 2018 in Baghdad and the surrounding vicinity, will include the deployment of as many as 250 Canadian Armed Forces personnel and up to four Griffon helicopters to support NATO activities.

鈥淭his is something that we believe in deeply,鈥� Trudeau said of the new Iraq mission.

鈥淭his is a moment for us to stand together and understand that the perspective that we fight for and stand for is essential today and tomorrow.鈥�

Canada will always be there to answer the call for & help build a more peaceful world. Today we announce Canadian leadership in a new NATO training mission in Iraq.

鈥� Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau)

A statement from the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office called the mission a 鈥渘atural next step for Canada鈥� that moves beyond the successful fight against Islamic State militants to 鈥渉elping build institutional capacity in Iraq and lay the groundwork for longer-term peace and stability.

Canada鈥檚 leadership of this new NATO training mission will complement existing efforts in the global coalition against ISIL.

Under Operation IMPACT, the Canadian army is already providing training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces and helping regional forces build their capacity.

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Canada also contributes mobile training teams to NATO鈥檚 counter-improvised explosive device capacity building efforts for Iraq. This initiative builds on that effort.

鈥淐anada knows that a peaceful world, a more democratic world is good for Canada, is good for all of us and that鈥檚 why we believe so deeply in NATO, that鈥檚 why we stand so strongly with the trans-Atlantic alliance, and we鈥檒l continue to step up everywhere we can,鈥� said Trudeau.

Teresa Wright, The Canadian Press

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