Canada lags behind allies as NATO plans to increase defence spending targets
CTV
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has made no secret of the fact that he wants more from member nations at this year's leaders' summit. Canada has agreed to the target but has not revealed a plan to reach it.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has made no secret of the fact that he wants more from member nations at this year's leaders' summit.
Exactly how much more is still a matter for discussion, but the 31 states with NATO membership are expected to make a more ambitious pledge than they have to date.
The agreed-upon target has been for each country to spend about two per cent of its GDP on defence.
Now, that is expected to just be the minimum.
Canada has agreed to the target but has not revealed a plan to reach it, with current spending sitting just shy of 1.3 per cent and political leaders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand shrugging off suggestions Canadians are not pulling their weight.
But some observers say the time has come for Canada to signal to allies that it is serious about meeting its goals.
"I don't think that Canada can just keep its head down and avoid this," said Tim Sayle, a NATO historian and professor at the University of Toronto.
