Canada commits $53.3 billion to defence over next 20 years

Canada plans to allocate $53.3 billion (73 billion Canadian dollars) towards defence expenditures over the next two decades.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the ambitious plan during the NATO summit in Washington, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

"Our new defence policy outlines investments of $73 billion Canadian over the next 20 years, underscoring Canada's steadfast commitment to supporting the alliance," Trudeau stated. These funds will be used, among other purposes, to maintain the readiness of NATO's multinational battalion in Latvia, led by Canada, and to train Ukrainian servicemen.

Trudeau noted that Ottawa has significantly increased defence spending since it was less than 1 per cent of GDP in 2015. However, he did not specify a timeline for reaching NATO's target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. In April, the government announced plans to increase defence spending to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2029 or 2030.

Canada is facing mounting pressure to cough up more cash on defence, with the NATO chief saying the current benchmark is the minimum allies should be spending.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg insists the status quo is “not good enough,” warning leaders who have gathered in Washington, D.C., for the alliance’s annual summit that more needs to be done.

“There is no way to provide strong defence without the strong defence industry,” said Stoltenberg on July 9. “That’s why this conference is so important.”