Carney says Canada will hit Nato target of 2% of GDP five years ahead of schedule amid ‘dangerous and divided world’
Mark Carney has promised to boost defence spending to its highest level in decades warning that in a “dangerous and divided world”, Canada must reduce its dependence on the US for defence.
Speaking at the University of Toronto on Monday, Carney said Canada would reach Nato’s 2% military expenditure target this fiscal year – five years ahead of his previously announced schedule. For years, Canada has been viewed as a defence loafer and successive prime ministers have failed to bring the country’s commitments in line with allies. A recent Nato report found that Canada spent an estimated 1.45% of its GDP on defence last year.
The prime minister pledged to divert billions in spending to domestic manufacturers, warning his country had become “too reliant on the United States” for its defence capabilities.
“The long-held view that Canada’s geographic location will protect us is becoming increasingly archaic. Threats which felt far away and remote are now immediate and acute,” said Carney, pointing to “Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine” and threats to Canada’s sovereignty not only from Moscow but also from “an increasingly assertive China”.
