Carney says Canada will meet 2% NATO spending target by March

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 8:37 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Saying that the epoch of the United States' dominance connected the satellite signifier is over, Prime Minister Mark Carney committed his authorities connected Monday to meeting the NATO benchmark people of 2 per cent of the country's gross home merchandise by the extremity of the existent fiscal twelvemonth successful March.

The premier curate outlined his imaginativeness of Canada moving much intimately toward European allies successful a code successful Toronto this morning.

"We stood enarthrosis to enarthrosis with the Americans passim the Cold War and successful the decades that followed, arsenic the United States played a ascendant relation connected the satellite stage. Today, that dominance is simply a happening of the past," Carney told an assemblage of overseas argumentation thinkers, nationalist information officials and defence manufacture concern leaders.

Carney said the satellite is astatine a turning constituent — a hinge infinitesimal — and that it's clip for Canada to illustration its ain path.

"The United States is opening to monetize its hegemony: charging for entree to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our corporate security," Carney said.

"In parallel, the world's commercialized routes, allegiances, vigor systems and adjacent quality itself are being rewired. Rising large powers are present successful strategical contention with America. A caller imperialism threatens. Middle powers vie for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not astatine the table, they volition beryllium connected the menu."

A elder national root who spoke to Radio-Canada says the biggest constituent of Monday's announcement volition beryllium the unveiling of a caller defence concern strategy, which volition absorption connected gathering Canada's subject done homegrown production.

Carney reiterated pledges made during the predetermination run to rearm the Canadian subject with caller submarines, armoured vehicles, drones and different technology. He provided nary further specifics during the speech.

Military members are besides expected to get a wage raise, which the Liberals promised successful the past predetermination campaign.

WATCH | Carney's afloat code pledging to hike defence spending to NATO people level

In addition, the Liberal authorities is expected to fold the Canadian Coast Guard wholly into the Department of National Defence — thing different countries do. The seashore defender is presently a peculiar operating bureau nether the Fisheries Department with an yearly fund of $2.5 billion.

Federal ministers person been softly signalling the pathway to a 2 per cent committedness for the past mates of weeks. 

The erstwhile caput of NATO, George Robertson, speaking connected CBC's Rosemary Baron Live connected June 1 said Industry Minister Mélanie Joly had assured him that Canada would scope the confederation goal, which was archetypal agreed upon successful 2014, by the extremity of the year. 

Last week, astatine NATO office successful Brussels, Defence Minister David McGuinty signalled Carney would code Canada's defence spending targets earlier the upcoming leaders' acme successful The Hague.

Hitting the 2 per cent NATO people would necessitate an concern of betwixt $18 cardinal and $20 billion. 

In his speech, Carney said Canada volition motion connected to NATO's defence concern pledge. Last year, NATO said it wanted its members to make nationalist plans to bolster the capableness of their individual defence manufacture sectors, a conception Canada has struggled with — or avoided outright — for decades.

"Our extremity is tangible commitments from our allies to supply NATO with the indispensable resoluteness to deter aggression and
support against each adversaries successful each domains," Carney said. "Our extremity is to support Canadians, not to fulfill NATO
accountants."

Canada under erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau faced regular disapproval from allies for not gathering NATO's existent people of 2 per cent of GDP. 

The quality became nationalist astatine past year's leaders' acme successful Washington erstwhile members of the U.S. Congress from some sides of the aisle called retired Canada for not having a program to conscionable the goal, unlike each different allies.