Canada will meet NATO’s defense spending target of two percent of GDP this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday. In making the statement, Carney emphasized that in an increasingly uncertain global environment, Canada must begin to ease its longstanding security reliance on the United States.
“I am announcing today that Canada will achieve NATO’s 2 percent target this year — half a decade ahead of schedule,” Carney said during a speech at the University of Toronto.
“The threats that Canada faces are multiplying,” he added.
Carney’s pledge followed similar announcements by members of the alliance and comes after consistent pressure by US President Donald Trump for NATO- members to spend more on defense.
“In a darker, more competitive world, Canadian leadership will be defined not just by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength,” Carney said.
Since taking office in mid-March, Carney has delivered a series of stark warnings about what he terms the changing nature of US global leadership under Trump.
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“The United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its (relative) contributions to our collective security,” Carney said, condemning Trump’s trade war.
“We should no longer send three quarters of our defense capital spending to America,” the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that Canada has been “jolted awake by new threats to our security and sovereignty,” citing growing concerns over Russia and China.
Framing the increased defense spending as a matter of national interest rather than international obligation, Carney stated the move is “to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants.”
His remarks follow NATO’s April report that 22 of its 32 member states have now reached the alliance’s defense spending benchmark of two percent of GDP—a target many European nations have accelerated toward since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. NATO now regards the two percent threshold as the minimum acceptable commitment.