NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called on the Canadian government to fulfill its commitment to allocate 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense spending. He pointed out that Canada is one of the few member countries this year that have not reached this level of defense expenditure.
In 2006, Canada, along with all NATO allies, agreed to achieve the 2% GDP defense spending goal and reiterated this commitment in 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Currently, Canada’s defense spending only accounts for 1.33% of GDP, with the country promising to reach 1.76% by 2030.
During a speech in Ottawa on Wednesday (June 19), Stoltenberg stated that in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, only three member countries met the 2% target. This year, out of NATO’s 32 member countries, 23 are on track to reach this goal.
Stoltenberg acknowledged that Canada has played a role in strengthening NATO deterrence, leading a multinational battle group in Latvia and providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also agreed to increase new spending by billions of dollars in the coming years, including modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and investing in fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets.
“At the same time, I still hope that all allies will adhere to the 2% spending guideline,” Stoltenberg said during a speech at the NATO Association of Canada.
He said, “I know it’s not always easy. I have been a politician, a parliamentarian, and a prime minister for many years, and I know that spending money on health, education, infrastructure, and many other important tasks is always easier than increasing defense spending.”
“Just as we reduce defense spending when tensions ease, we must increase spending and invest more in our security during times of heightened tension like today,” Stoltenberg said.
He emphasized, “The conflict in Ukraine shows that our security threats are not regional but global in nature.”
Stoltenberg added that Russia’s increasingly close cooperation with authoritarian countries in Asia makes NATO’s close cooperation with friends in the Indo-Pacific region more important.
Canada is facing increasing pressure from allies to make greater contributions to defense, especially given its military presence in the Arctic region compared to Russia.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wrote a letter last month urging Trudeau to develop a plan to fulfill the 2% commitment.
Trudeau is scheduled to meet with other NATO leaders at a NATO summit in Washington D.C. in July. Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair recently told Bloomberg that Canada will achieve the 2% goal; it is only a matter of time.
Earlier this week, Stoltenberg met with President Biden in Washington D.C. On Wednesday, which was the U.S. federal holiday of Juneteenth, he flew to Ottawa to deliver a speech and hold a closed-door meeting with Trudeau.
On Thursday, Stoltenberg will return to Washington D.C. to meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.