5 months ago
22
A bipartisan group of
US senators
urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to produce a plan to meet a
Nato
commitment to increase defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Thom Tillis, co-chairs of the Senate Nato observers group, and 21 other senators signed a letter to Trudeau on Thursday, demanding that Canada hit the defense spending target agreed to by members of the security alliance in 2006 and reaffirmed as recently as 2023.
Trudeau’s government released a policy update in April that projects defense spending will rise to 1.76% of GDP by 2030. The new plan places a heavy emphasis on securing Canada’s Arctic, which faces growing threats from Russia and China.
The US senators wrote that they’re “concerned and profoundly disappointed” that Canada may still fall short of the 2% pledge. It’s certain to be a topic when members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gather in Washington this summer.
“The United States’ commitment to Nato is unwavering,” they wrote. By the time of the July summit, “we will expect your government and every Nato member that has not met the 2% defense spending threshold to have a plan to reach this benchmark as soon as possible.”
Other signatories to the letter include Democrats Joe Manchin, Tammy Duckworth and Jeff Merkley and Republicans Dan Sullivan, Tim Scott, Mitt Romney and Ted Cruz.
Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair told reporters in Ottawa that the government’s defense budget will increase by 27% next year compared with this year and that the recent defense policy update applies a “very significant and necessary focus on continental defense.” He pointed to a promised investment of nearly C$40 billion ($29.1 billion) in upgrading systems under Norad, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
“We know that Canada needs to invest in other capabilities that are not yet included in this year’s budget,” Blair added, mentioning submarines and air missile defense systems that are expected to lift Canada closer to 2%.
The senators’ letter comes just over a week after Blair visited Washington to meet with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“I’m sure I’d be able to assure those concerned senators that Canada will be a ready and capable ally to Nato in North America and NORAD and around the world,” Blair said.
