Canada is making significant strides towards meeting NATO's military spending guideline by the end of the decade, according to the Defense Minister. The country is focusing on boosting investment in the Arctic region near its shared border with Russia, which is experiencing rapid warming due to climate change.
Following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO allies committed to halting budget cuts and working towards spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. At that time, Canada was only spending around 1% of its GDP on defense.
As tensions continued with Russia's conflict in Ukraine, NATO allies decided that 2% should be the minimum spending requirement. Recent NATO figures estimated Canada's military budget to be at 1.33% of GDP in 2023.
The Defense Minister highlighted the evolving threat environment, increased accessibility of the Arctic, advancements in technology, and actions of adversaries as reasons for Canada to enhance its defense capabilities. He emphasized the need for readiness in the face of changing security dynamics.
Canada aims to increase its defense spending to at least 1.75% of GDP by 2029, with potential additional investments such as replacing aging submarines and acquiring integrated air defense and missile systems likely pushing the figure beyond the 2% mark.
The country has already outlined plans to purchase surveillance aircraft, helicopters, and replenish ammunition supplies as part of its defense modernization efforts.
NATO Secretary-General has indicated that he expects around two-thirds of the alliance's member countries to meet the 2% GDP defense spending target this year, a significant increase from just three countries meeting the threshold a decade ago.
