4 days Ago By Brandon Sun
Derek Burney is right. Canada’s former ambassador to the United States told CTV’s Question Period yesterday that Canada is a “laggard” on defence spending, and that it must do “major work” on the issue if it wants to be taken seriously by the U.S.
on a host of other issues. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Derek Burney is right. Canada’s former ambassador to the United States told CTV’s Question Period yesterday that Canada is a “laggard” on defence spending, and that it must do “major work” on the issue if it wants to be taken seriously by the U.S.
on a host of other issues. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion Derek Burney is right. Canada’s former ambassador to the United States told CTV’s Question Period yesterday that Canada is a “laggard” on defence spending, and that it must do “major work” on the issue if it wants to be taken seriously by the U.
S. on a host of other issues. “If we expect to get any attention in Washington at all on anything,” he said, “we’ve got to do major work on our defence capabilities .
.. It really is dismal.
” Dismal, indeed. According to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, Canada “stands alone” as the sole NATO member that is not meeting its obligations to spend at least two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, and spend at least 20 per cent of its defence budget on equipment, research and development. NATO considers that level of spending to be a minimum level of investment.
At the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Canada re-affirmed its commitment to meet its two per cent of GDP obligation. This past July, the Trudeau government promised to “almost triple its defence spending between 2014-15 and 2029-30,” and said that “Canada expects to spend two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence by 2032.” Note the use of the word “expects,” as opposed to “commits” or “promises.
” Note also that a recent report by Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer disputes the feasibility of the government’s plan. It says that “PBO forecasts that Canada’s military expenditures will rise from 1.29 per cent of GDP in 2024-25 to a peak of 1.
49 per cent of GDP in 2025-26 before falling and stabilizing at 1.42 per cent by 2029-30.” It states that Canada would have to almost double its defence spending to $81.
9 billion annually if it seriously intends to meet its two per cent goal by 2032. Based on those projections, it appears unlikely that we will meet our two per cent spending commitment within the next decade – this despite the fact that most NATO member nations are now meeting or exceeding the two per cent GDP spending threshold. Fewer than ten of our NATO allies were meeting that standard in 2019 but, five years later, the number has risen to 22 members of the alliance.
Indeed, a recent report by the Wilson Centre says that “among the 32 NATO allies, only eight spend less than two per cent of GDP on defense,” and that Canada only outspends Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain. That same report says that “Despite threats from figures like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Canada remains hesitant to increase its defense spending significantly ..
. This reluctance raises a crucial question for Washington policymakers: why does the US continue to press Canada on defense spending? The US persists because, when properly funded and supported, Canada’s military is among the world’s best, demonstrating remarkable courage and tenacity in some of the toughest conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries.” That may sound flattering, but re-elected U.
S. President Donald Trump has been caustic in his criticism of NATO members – Canada in particular – that fail to meet their spending obligations. He has often suggested that the U.
S. will not protect NATO allies who fail to meet the target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence. Burney says the U.
S. will not accept Canada’s eight-year plan to achieve its two per cent target. He says that “I can’t put it too negatively, but we are laggard, we are irrelevant, and we make no contribution that I can think of that is meaningful anywhere in the world today,” he added.
Canada is facing intense pressure from its NATO allies to increase military spending, but it is also receiving significant pressure from both its provincial premiers and Canadian voters to spend billions more on critical issues such as health care, infrastructure and housing – all this at a time when the national debt has ballooned to $1.5 billion and our GDP has fallen. On top of that, the federal government is expected to run a deficit of approximately $40 billion this year, marking 17 consecutive years of budget deficits.
How does Canada meet its NATO spending obligations and fund vital national issues such as health care, while also addressing credible concerns about the nation’s growing debt load? It won’t be easy, and may well be impossible. What is clear, however, is that it is time for the Trudeau government – and also Canada’s likely next prime minister, Pierre Poilievre – to be frank and honest with both our NATO allies and Canadians generally, about the measures that will be required, and the measures they are prepared to implement, in order to meet those three critical objectives. The clock is ticking.
Our NATO allies are growing impatient and Canadians have ample reason to be concerned. Advertisement Advertisement.
