US Senator Asks New Head of NORAD to Pressure Canada on Defence Spending

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on May 7, 2020. (Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

A U.S. senator has asked a senior U.S. military figure taking over the leadership of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) to pressure Canada to meet its defence spending commitments.

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan made the comments during the confirmation hearing of U.S. Air Force Lt.-Gen. Gregory Guillo at a July 26 meeting of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

NORAD has a unique responsibility to defend both Canada and the United States, said Mr. Sullivan, noting, “Unfortunately, Canada doesn’t even come close to pulling its weight on defense spending.”

‘Military Free Rider’

The senator asked Lt.-Gen Guillot if he was prepared to “press the Canadians on their obligations” if his nomination to assume command of NORAD is accepted.

“Yes, senator, you can count on me to do that,” he answered.

Mr. Sullivan cited a Wall Street Journal editorial on July 12 that called Canada a “military free-rider in NATO,” and asked that it be submitted for the record. “It goes on to talk about Ottawa’s feeble commitment to the alliance at the Vilnius Summit,” said the senator, referring to the meeting of NATO heads of state in Vilnius, Lithuania, from July 11 to 12.

The scathing article Mr. Sullivan referenced said Ottawa “spends only a pathetic 1.38 percent of GDP on defence.”

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Lithuania this week for the annual NATO summit, but it’s too bad there wasn’t a junior table where he could sit. That’s where his country belongs based on Ottawa’s feeble commitment to alliance defense,” said the editorial.

In 2014, all members of NATO committed to spending 2 percent of GDP on defence funding by 2024. Canada ranks sixth from the bottom on NATO country spending as a share of GDP, and spends seventh-lowest on the list on military equipment.

“It was common knowledge that Prime Minister Trudeau was trying to water down the Vilnius commitment to 2 percent as a floor. All of which is incredibly disappointing,” said Mr. Sullivan at the committee meeting. “Americans get frustrated when our allies don’t pull their weight.”

He said that Canada failing to support NATO and falling short in supporting missile defence for North American is “harmful to the alliance.”

In a parting shot while discussing beefing up security in the Arctic, Mr. Sullivan accused Canada of being “not very good at paying for missile defence either. Even though we protect the whole North American continent.”

Spending Target

A Washington Post report in April publicized the contents of leaked documents that indicated Mr. Trudeau had privately told NATO officials that Canada will never meet the military alliance’s defence-spending target of 2 percent of GDP for its member states.

The July 12 Wall Street Journal editorial accused Canada of starting “to think of its membership as largely a place to rub shoulders with global powers and a platform for making moral pronouncements.” It also criticized Mr. Trudeau and his government for taking the view that “its military is more of a social project than fighting force.”

“Canada has also long been a free-rider off the U.S. military, which it knows stands guard over North America. Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party figures it can thus afford to shirk on defense and shovel money into public unions and social-welfare programs,” it said.

It cited a December 2021 mandate letter from Mr. Trudeau to the minister of defence which said the “immediate priority is to take concrete steps to build an inclusive and diverse Defence Team, characterized by a healthy workplace free from harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct and violence.”

‘Invested Massively’

Mr. Trudeau spoke July 27 at a media availability in Newfoundland, stating that Canada has “invested massively in NORAD modernization just earlier this year.”

“We’re continuing to step up in our NATO commitments,” he said. “We continue to be there.”

Mr. Trudeau said Canada has elevated its presence in Latvia to “a brigade size.”

“We continue to engage around the world even as we continue to procure the kinds of equipment that the Canadian Armed Forces are going to need to continue to do their work,” said the prime minister.

“Whether it’s 88 new fighter jets, whether it’s NORAD modernization, whether it’s the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic in Halifax, whether it’s the NATO Centre for Climate Change and Security in Montreal, we’re going to continue to step up in this time of increased concerns around security everywhere around the world.”

New Spending

On July 10, ahead of the NATO summit, Mr. Trudeau said Canada would contribute $2.6 billion in defence spending for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) overseas mission, “Operation Reassurance,” in Latvia starting in 2023-24 for three years, according to a news release.

Canada currently has around 800 CAF troops stationed in Latvia, working with the country’s military and NATO allies, and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that up to 2,200 troops will be “persistently deployed, more than double the current deployment,” over the next several years as part of the renewal of the mission.

“Canada is also ready to deploy additional surge personnel for allied crisis response, cooperative security, and collective defence,” the PMO said in the press release.

The PMO said Canada will also “procure and pre-position critical weapon systems, enablers, supplies and support intelligence, cyber, and space activities to fulfill pledges made under the Canada-Latvia Joint Declaration of June 2022,” and continue supporting NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Latvia.

During a cabinet shuffle on July 26, Defence Minister Anita Anand was replaced with former Toronto chief of police Bill Blair, who moves from his post as emergency preparedness minister to take the lead at the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Canadian Press and Peter Wilson contributed to this report.