Europe is eyeing France's nuclear shield. Should Canada follow?

A very quiet queue has formed in Europe where some of Canada's long-standing, closest allies are seeking shelter under France's small but robust nuclear umbrella. 

The initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, who declared the next 50 years to be the "era of nuclear weapons," is — on paper — intended to add another layer of deterrence to NATO's American-backed security guarantees.

Once again — on paper — Russia is the adversary that needs deterring. 

But with U.S. President Donald Trump once again trash-talking NATO allies over their reluctance to join his war in the Middle East and the sensational — but hardly surprising — Financial Times report that Denmark was preparing to put up a fight to defend Greenland against American annexation, a whole new dimension emerges to the French advanced nuclear deterrence strategy.

Should Canada join that queue?

Consider for a moment that Denmark is one of the eight nations in the negotiating line and presumably wherever deterrence assurances are given (France has already ruled out explicit guarantees) would extend to Greenland.

Had the arrangement already been in place in January, how would that have changed the annexation equation?

When Prime Minister Mark Carney and five Nordic leaders met the media last Sunday in Oslo, the most uncomfortable moment came when the question of the French nuclear deterrent was raised.

Judging by the sheepish expressions on some of the leader's faces, nobody wanted to speak the quiet part out loud.

Canada had no intention of going nuclear and acquiring its own deterrent, Carney said. 

And although there is a difference between acquiring your own nuclear weapons and sheltering under someone's deterrent, Carney delivered cautious praise for Macron's initiative to extend the reach of France's arsenal. 

"We commend that initiative from a NATO perspective, from a European security perspective. It's not directly affecting Canada," Carney said, while noting the details of the French plan are still subject to negotiation. 

There are eight countries in the queue: the U.K., Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. Britain has its own, smaller nuclear force which is closely integrated with the United States in terms of technology.

France's arsenal is fully independent and has made the issue of command and control — the so-called one-man, one-button notion — a non-starter in negotiations with other nations.