ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½

Carney said his government would continue increasing defence spending even further as NATO prepares for a summit later this month, where leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and the alliance’s secretary general have forecast talks towards a new defence spending target of five per cent of GDP.

In a speech at the University of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ on Monday, and later at a news conference at Fort York, Carney declared the new track to hit the NATO target is needed in a world made more dangerous by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, rising competition between great powers and a less reliable United States.

Billions of new spending earmarked for the military over the past decade is “still not close enough to face these mounting risks,� Carney said.

“The brave women and men who are protecting our sovereignty do not have the resources they need for a risker world,� he added, describing how only “one of our four submarines is seaworthy� and “less than half our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational.�

The Department of National Defence (DND) last year that 51 per cent of its maritime fleet, 56 per cent of its “key land fleets� and 54 per cent of its air fleets met their definition for operational readiness in 2022-23.

In the House of Commons, Conservative MP James Bezan accused the Liberals of “breaking our military� through underinvestment, and charged that “nobody believes them� when they talk of boosting defence spending.

Jill McKnight, the Liberal veterans affairs minister, responded that defence spending fell below one per cent of GDP in 2014, when the Conservatives were in power.

In ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, Premier Doug Ford, chair of the Council of the Federation that has been calling for the two per cent threshold to be reached, said he “proud of the prime minister for doing that today.â€�

Ford expressed hope that some of new military spending would go toward General Dynamics in London, Ont., which has been waiting for an order of armoured vehicles.

In recent years, Canada has come under intensifying political pressure to hit the NATO target. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted calls across the West to rapidly rearm with the return of Cold War-era tensions. Canadian military officials and the federal government have also pointed to China as a potential threat, especially in the Arctic, where the advance of climate change is widely expected to open trading routes and access to resources.

Last summer, at the NATO summit in Washington, Canada came under fire from Republican politicians over its relatively low ratio of defence spending. As the Star reported at the time, the government arrived at the meetings without a clear plan to demonstrate how it would hit the NATO spending target. On the final day, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau promised Canada would achieve it by 2032, but did not provide details of how. He also criticized the idea of the spending target, dismissing it as a ”crass mathematical calculation” that doesn’t reflect Canada’s true contribution to the military alliance. 

Trump has railed against NATO members he sees as taking advantage of the huge American military to spend less on their protection — criticism he has levied at Canada and European allies alike.

On Monday, Carney repeated his pledges to deepen partnerships with like-minded democracies, including by seeking to participate in the European Union’s defence industrial plan, ReArm Europe. He also said DND will “immediately design a new defence policy� barely one year after it released the last one, which earmarked $8.1 billion in fresh spending over five years — less than the $9.3 billion in a single year that Carney unveiled Monday.

The new spending includes $2.63 billion to help recruit and retain soldiers, as the CAF grapples with a persistent personnel shortfall of 13,000 it aims to overcome by 2030. It also includes $2.1 billion for a new “defence industrial strategy� to build more munitions in Canada, and explore ways to development critical minerals, energy, and communications infrastructure the military needs, according to officials who briefed journalists.

On top of that, the government pledged $2 billion in aid to Ukraine and to “diversify� defence partnerships beyond the U.S., with money to be spent on new defence policy advisers who will be sent abroad as part of a diplomatic push, officials said.

The $62.7 billion now expected for defence spending in the current fiscal year is mostly budgeted for DND, officials said, but also includes spending from 13 other government departments — like Veterans Affairs and Global Affairs Canada — that is counted toward the NATO target.

The government also announced Monday that the Canadian Coast Guard will be used for some defence purposes. Officials said Monday that the government doesn’t plan to arm Coast Guard boats, but will use the agency to boost the military’s maritime surveillance, especially in the Arctic.

Alluding to the ongoing trade war over Trump’s tariffs, which Canada deems illegal and unjustified, Carney argued the rapid increase in defence spending is necessary in a world changing so dramatically. The once-reliable U.S., he said, is “monetizing its hegemony� amidst other threats that require Canada to bolster its military.

But Carney also said Monday that there is still room for Canada to deepen its military ties with the U.S., pointing to ballistic missile defence as a possible example.

In recent weeks, Carney confirmed Canada is in talks with the U.S. to join Trump’s $243-billion “Golden Dome� missile defence system, although the government has not said how much money it might spend to do so.

“There are many, many reasons for very close, if not enhanced, co-operation between Canada and the United States,� Carney said.

The prime minister also defended the new spending, which comes as the new Liberal minority government delays its first budget — normally presented each spring — until the fall sitting of Parliament.

Carney said part of the reason to wait is for clarity on Canada’s defence commitments. That will come up at this month’s NATO summit in The Hague, where leaders are expected to agree to a new spending target. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte predicted the alliance will endorse a threshold of five per cent of GDP, with more than three per cent on “hardâ€� defence spending and the rest for “defence-relatedâ€� investments.

Carney said Monday that he’s confident Canada can get there, stating that defence industrial spending on areas like artificial intelligence, critical minerals and quantum computing are already “in the zone� of 1.5 per cent of GDP.

“Defence, it literally is to keep our citizens secure, and we’ll do what’s needed,� he said.

With a file from Robert Benzie