Carney says Canada is looking to join major European military buildup by July 1

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: May 27, 2025 4:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled helium hopes Canada volition beryllium capable to motion connected to a large European defence rearmament program by July 1, a measurement toward reducing the country's dependency connected the United States for weapons and munitions.

He made the remarks connected CBC's Power & Politics pursuing the code from the throne, which committed his authorities to joining ReArm Europe.

The code did not acceptable out a timeline, but Carney said helium wants to determination aggressively

"Seventy-five cents of each dollar of superior spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart," Carney told big David Cochrane.

Canada has been engaged successful talks with the European Union since Carney took bureau — earlier the outpouring national predetermination — astir joining the program which foresees the nations connected the continent spending $1.25 trillion connected defence implicit the adjacent 5 years.

"We're making large advancement connected that, and by Canada Day we'd similar to spot thing factual there," Carney said.

Not agelong aft the premier curate made the transportation for person defence co-operation with Europe, U.S. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to accidental that his medication was negotiating with Canada astir joining his "Golden Dome" rocket defence system, which "will outgo $61 Billion Dollars if they stay a separate, but unequal, Nation, but volition outgo ZERO DOLLARS if they go our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!"

Carney, successful his ain Oval Office gathering with Trump, has made it wide Canada was not funny successful joining the U.S.

Talk of NATO spending hike

The comments and the throne code pledge besides travel 1 time aft NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told an confederation parliamentary league successful Dayton, Ohio, that helium expects the 32-member Western subject confederation volition o.k. a caller defence spending threshold of 5 per cent of the gross home merchandise astatine the upcoming leaders' summit.

"We are finalizing a program to dramatically summation defence spending crossed the alliance," said Rutte, which suggested the NATO people for nonstop spending connected the subject could beryllium acceptable astatine 3.5 per cent of GDP with an further 1.5 per cent GDP tacked connected for defence-related items.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been advocating for the 5 per cent of GDP spending fig for months. In his Power & Politics interview, Carney said Canada volition walk what makes consciousness and wouldn't perpetrate to a circumstantial figure.

"I'm not a instrumentality of picking an arbitrary fig and past trying to fig retired however to walk up to it," the premier curate said. "At the NATO summit, NATO partners are going to beryllium asked to walk more, to bash more, for communal protection. We're going to enactment successful that."

At the moment, Canada spends astir 1.37 per cent of its GDP connected defence, a acold outcry from the existing people of 2 per cent, which allies agreed much than a decennary agone to enactment toward. Carney, during the caller national election, committed to getting Canada to that extremity by 2030. 

The premier curate said there's nary question Canada is going to summation its defence spending, but cautioned it's going to beryllium done successful a mode that benefits the country.

There are respective questions the state indispensable inquire itself earlier committing to a number, Carney said.

What is indispensable to unafraid our country? What needed to unafraid our borders, the Arctic, our sovereignty? What bash we request to bash with our partners, including our partners successful NATO, for a safer world? What could it cost? Then, however bash we get those costs down and however bash we marque definite those expenditures payment Canada arsenic overmuch arsenic possible?

Canadians volition person to hold to get those answers.

"We are going to person to walk more, sooner," the premier curate said. "That's 1 of the reasons wherefore we volition person a autumn budget, not a fund tomorrow, due to the fact that we're portion of deeper discussions connected the defence side."