Foreign Affairs Minister Anand says NATO must turn its focus to the North
BNN Bloomberg
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand touted Canada’s new commitment to defence spending and the domestic defence sector and called for a NATO policy pivot to the Arctic at a major defence and security conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.
“We’re reaching two per cent of GDP this year and five per cent of GDP by 2035,” she said, referring to the NATO alliance’s commitment to spend the equivalent of five per cent of GDP on defence within a decade.
That updated target was pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has accused other allies of freeloading on the United States. European countries in NATO have also moved to quickly re-arm as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.
At the same time, Anand said, the alliance needs to shift its focus to the North.
“Last August, I raised the point about ensuring that NATO has efforts that are geared towards Arctic security and protection, and my foreign minister colleagues around that table, the Nordic Five, agreed with me wholeheartedly,” she said.
The Nordic Five includes Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden -- the latter two countries being the newest members of NATO.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about US$1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes.
The Bank of Canada will be balancing a last-minute flood of economic data with uncertainty around trade and war in the Middle East as it prepares to make its second interest rate decision of 2026 this week.
The Trump administration has expanded its trade investigations to 60 countries, including Canada, in an effort to shore up the president’s tariff policies.
Canada has committed to supplying 23.6 million barrels of oil as part of a larger International Energy Agency plan to help stabilize energy markets as the war in the Middle East continues.
Canada’s energy-heavy index may cushion stocks from oil shocks, but rising crude prices could boost inflation and pressure consumers.
Venture Global will proceed with phase 2 of its CP2 liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the company said on Friday.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Telus Corp.’s global IT and customer services arm says it’s investigating a breach of its systems.
When Jensen Huang strides onto the stage of a packed hockey arena to kick off Nvidia’s annual developer conference on Monday, he is likely to reveal products and partnerships geared toward keeping the AI chipmaker atop a growing array of competitors.
The current Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) crackdown on Canada’s growing army of gig workers has gone beyond Uber drivers, contractors, consultants, handy-people and freelancers.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said late on Thursday it had begun Section 301 unfair trade practices probes of 60 economies in relation to what it called failures to take action on forced labor.