She presented data on Croatia's progress and contribution to NATO operations in the world, and said the countries in Southeast Europe deserved that signal too.
The minister said Croatia expected an encouraging signal with a concrete accession plan, including the date of the launching of accession negotiations.
Grabar-Kitarovic said both the alliance and the new members would benefit from enlargement.
She said Croatia was committed to continuing with the defence reform and meeting political criteria for membership, and highlighted the upcoming implementation of a communication strategy so that public support for accession could be secured.
More than 600 officials attended the meeting and Grabar-Kitarovic was the only speaker alongside top Canadian state officials and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who spoke by videolink.