Liberal Leadership Candidates Vow to Speed up Spending on National Defence

A Liberal Party of Canada logo is shown on a giant screen as a technician looks on during day one of the party's biennial convention in Montreal on Feb. 20, 2014. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

Liberal leadership candidates spent Thursday attempting to one-up each other over how quickly they'd meet NATO’s defence spending target.

Both Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould vowed to bring Canada’s military spending up to the equivalent of two percent of national GDP by 2027, while Frank Baylis committed to reaching that target by 2030—a pitch he made in a National Post op-ed in July.