After years of shrugging off Trump-era trolling, Ottawa is treating Arctic pressure as a real strategic threat, and reshaping its defence, diplomacy, and alliances accordingly.

The image may have been fake, but with each passing day Canada is coming to terms with the fact that the threat could be real.

US President Donald Trump escalated his provocative rhetoric on territorial expansion by sharing doctored images suggesting the United States should extend its control over Canada, while renewing calls for Washington to acquire Greenland.

Canada is considering whether to send a small contingent of troops to Greenland to take part in NATO military exercises, a source directly familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is reportedly weighing the possibility of sending a military presence to Greenland for exercises with allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) amid escalating tensions over the territory after President Donald Trump said he wants to acquire the Arctic island,