New Delhi: Canada Monday announced it would boost its defence spending to 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of this fiscal year as it aims to reduce its dependence on the US when it comes to security issues.
This will see Canada, which has just one seaworthy submarine and less than half its maritime and land vehicles operational, invest a further $9 billion in defence spending this fiscal year, bringing it to the target first set by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 2006.
The last time Canada spent 2 percent of its GDP on defence was way back in 1990.
“In a darker, more competitive world, Canadian leadership will be defined not just by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength,” declared Canadian PM Mark Carney in a speech at the University of Toronto.
He added: “Threats from a more dangerous and divided world are unravelling the rules based on international order. An order that was fused by the settlements at the end of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War. An order on which Canada has relied on for longer than many of our lifetimes.”
Carney’s speech also pointed out that Ottawa has only one seaworthy submarine from its total fleet of four. “Less than half of our maritime fleet and our land vehicles are operational,” added the Canadian PM, highlighting that the country has become too reliant on the US.
The plan will see $2.6 billion invested in the recruitment and retainment of military personnel, to ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces has a total of 71,500 regular and 30,000 reserve members by 2030. A total of roughly 13,000 regular and reserve personnel have to be hired to hit this target.
Furthermore, $844 million will be spent for the repair of equipment, $560 million for cyber security and $1 billion for enhancing existing military capabilities. The Canadian government has also allocated $2.1 billion for strengthening its own defence industry, and a further $2 billion to diversify Canada’s defence partnerships with allied countries and beyond the US.
Ottawa has long been seen as riding on the US’s defence coattails, especially since the end of the Cold War. The last time the country spent 2 percent of its GDP on defence was in 1990, according to data published by the World Bank. From 1960s onwards, its defence spending continuously declined until falling to roughly 1 percent of its GDP by 2014, from around 4 percent.
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Even at the height of the global war on terror, including its combat role in Afghanistan a little over two decades ago, Canadian defence spending saw no increase as a percentage of its GDP.
In November 2006, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation pledged to maintain at least 2 percent of GDP on military spending. In 2014, NATO countries reiterated their 2006 pledge at a summit in Wales.
In the early years of Justin Trudeau’s premiership, the government did not indicate when it would hit the target. In June 2024, after years of shuffling on its pledge, the Trudeau administration finally announced the goal of 2032 to hit the 2 percent target. A target which Carney has now announced will be achieved by the end of this fiscal year.
The Canadian PM’s announcement comes merely a week before he is set to host the leaders of the G7 (the US, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada) at Kananaskis, Alberta, where American President Donald J. Trump is set to participate. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to travel to Canada for the G7 summit.
Carney’s announcement also comes on the eve of the NATO Summit, which is set to be held in The Hague between 24 and 25 June. The military alliance is exploring the option of re-examining the 2 per cent pledge by increasing it to 5 per cent.
Of the 32-member military alliance, at least 24 nations have hit or maintain a 2 percent defence spending. Canada is one of eight countries that has failed to do so till date. Spain is reported to have the lowest defence spending in relation to its GDP at 1.28 per cent.
Trump, the American President, has long pushed for NATO allies to touch the defence spending pledge, using threats, hostile language and even going so far as calling Canada the 51st state of the US, to drive the point home.
Carney hit out at Trump for attempting to “monetise” its “hegemony” by charging for access to its markets and reducing its overall contribution to collective security.
“We should no longer send three-quarters of our defence capital spending to America,” Carney added. He further said that the necessity was for increasing military spending to ensure the safety of Canadians and not to “satisfy NATO accountants.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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