News Analysis
What has long seemed unattainable for successive Canadian governments—meeting NATO’s current defence spending guideline—will be reached this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
Increasing the pay for soldiers and repairing existing Canadian Armed Forces equipment are some of the measures being planned to reach the target.
Carney announced on June 9 Canada will spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defence this year, beating his initial campaign pledge to meet the target by 2030. This is also seven years earlier than his predecessor, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, had initially planned.
Touting the accomplishment could be short-lived. The NATO military alliance is expected to agree later this month to raise the bar to 5 percent, with 3.5 percent dedicated to core defence spending and 1.5 percent to defence and security-related investments, which can include infrastructure….