A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make good on Canada’s commitment to meet its 2 percent NATO spending target.
All NATO allies, including Canada, renewed their pledge last summer, to spend at least 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. Canada currently spends just shy of 1.4 percent of its GDP on the military.
“To build on the success of the past 75 years and secure the transatlantic alliance for the next generation, NATO requires continued investments from each member country,” the letter reads, noting that allies have also agreed that 20 percent of defence spending should go toward equipment to “modernize capabilities.”
“All allies agreed that 2 percent defence spending levels should be the floor—not the ceiling—of contributions to the alliance,” the letter adds.
Canada recommitted to reaching the spending target at NATO’s annual meeting last summer in Lithuania, agreeing that 2 percent should be the base requirement for all 31 member countries by the end of 2024. The number of countries expected to meet that goal this year has risen to 18 from 11, but Canada is not among that number.
The letter implores Canada and other countries failing to meet the target to “have a plan to reach this benchmark as soon as possible.”
Under Canada’s new defence policy, the federal government estimates its defence spending will rise to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2029-30.
“As we approach the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., we are concerned and profoundly disappointed that Canada’s most recent projection indicated that it will not reach its 2 percent commitment this decade,” the letter says.
It goes on to say that “Canada will fail to meet its obligations to the alliance, to the detriment of all NATO allies and the free world, without immediate and meaningful action to increase defence spending.”
The letter was signed by 23 senators, including Republicans Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, and Dan Sullivan, along with Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Benjamin Cardin, Tammy Duckworth, Joe Manchin, and Tim Kaine.
Canada Under Pressure
Canada has been under pressure for some time to spend the minimum 2 percent of its GDP on defence.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in February said he was counting on Ottawa to make good on its spending commitment sooner rather than later.
“Canada is a big economy, a member of the G7. Canada is the second largest country in the world with vast coastlines … so it really matters what Canada does.”
Mr. Stoltenberg added that all 18 allies are expected to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence in 2024 and those who are not “should have plans in place to be there as soon as possible.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has also expressed his opinion about allies failing to meet the target.
The Republican presidential nominee front-runner for the November election said if he were elected again, he would encourage Russia to do “whatever” it wanted to any NATO member country that isn’t meeting its spending requirement.
The U.S. and Mr. Stoltenberg are not alone in their desire to see Ottawa step up its contribution. Canadians are increasingly identifying military spending as a priority with more than half of the voting age public saying Ottawa should meet its NATO spending obligations, according to a recent poll from the Angus Reid Institute.
If Mr. Trump was to return to the White House, 65 percent of Canadians said they would be onboard with increasing military spending to meet the 2 percent benchmark.
When Mr. Trump’s hypothetical scenario was taken into account, support for increased military spending jumped by double digits across most age and gender groups, the report said. Notably, support among women between the ages of 18 and 34 rose from 22 to 47 percent, despite this demographic typically showing lower approval for military spending.
The U.S. ambassador in Ottawa, David Cohen, praised the commitments in Canada’s defence policy when it was released, saying it “appears to articulate a substantial down payment toward” the NATO target.
The Defence Department’s budget was $26.9 billion last year and the defence policy allots another $8.1 billion in spending over the next five years with a total of $73 billion by 2044.
That money will go toward buying long-range missiles, early-warning aircraft, and all-terrain vehicles designed for the harsh Arctic climate.
Mr. Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair have both said the government expects to spend more than that in the end, however, because the policy also includes plans to buy a new fleet of submarines and other equipment that has not yet been costed.
Canada has also committed more than $9.7 billion to the Ukrainian war effort since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Mr. Blair announced in February that Ottawa would donate more than 800 Canadian-made drones at a cost of $95 million.
