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Canada and other NATO countries are expected to present specific, “credible” plans to meet the alliance’s new defense spending measure when leaders meet next month in Turkey, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
The demand is important to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, which has faced recent public criticism from senior Pentagon officials who accused Canada of not sharing that information with Washington.
Rutte spoke to reporters in Brussels on Wednesday ahead of the latest meeting of NATO defense ministers, the last gathering before the leaders sit down in Ankara.
“I expect the countries to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal, before the agreed time,” said Rutte. “Many are already showing that they are doing just that. The numbers are clear. We have seen a huge increase in defense spending by 2025, with European allies and Canada increasing their base defense investment by more than $90 billion US.”
CBC’s Rosemary Barton talks to National Defense Minister David McGuinty about Canada recently reaching the NATO target of two percent of GDP spent on defence, what this says about the current state of global security, and how challenging it will be to maintain this level of spending.
US Defense Department officials last month suspended participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), a Canada-US bilateral forum that dates back to the Second World War.
In the retreat, Pentagon officials pointed to Canada’s unwillingness to provide a clear roadmap for a NATO-mandated increase in defense-related spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035. They also expressed frustration that Canada was given a classified paper that sets out priorities for the collective defense of North America and did not provide an official US response to the official US “honest communication”.
Carney said that meeting NATO’s target of five percent of GDP (3.5 percent spent directly on the military and 1.5 percent on defense infrastructure) could cost the federal treasury up to $150 billion annually if fully implemented. Currently, Canada spends about $63 billion a year on defense.
The Department of National Defense, in the last federal budget, did not reveal five-year spending projections and did not respond to several reporters’ requests for those figures.
Last month, the Pentagon’s director of policy planning, Elbridge Colby, said on social media that the United States “can no longer avoid the gap between rhetoric and reality” instead of Canada.
National security researcher Christy Somos also revealed that the United States Army National Guard has refrained from participating in the annual conference of Canadian-US military officials. The Canadian Department of Defense has confirmed that the Army Reserve General Officers Advisory Board has stopped meeting.
On Wednesday, US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lamented the “collapsing” relationship between Canada and the United States and said it needed to be restored to ensure security in both countries. Mullin said this during an interview with Canada’s public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree, in Washington.
Senior Canadian officials in Ottawa, speaking on the background recently of increasing US pressure, said the plan to reach 5 percent is being prepared and will be presented by Canada to all NATO partners in July.
They dismissed criticism of the Pentagon, saying it did not come from the White House.
Defense Minister David McGuinty is expected to take part in talks with his NATO counterparts this week in Brussels.
Rutte downplayed the US plan to significantly scale back conventional military forces and the rapid response it assigns to NATO in the event of a crisis.
While the US will maintain its umbrella of nuclear deterrence over Europe, it is reducing its contribution to the so-called NATO Force Model – a detailed plan of what each country contributes in case of war.
The reductions include major cuts in fighter jets, smart bombs, air-to-air refueling aircraft and drones. It is also drawing submarines, including a type of submarine that launches cruise missiles, and cutting the number of destroyers available to NATO in half.
The Trump administration also announced plans to cut 5,000 troops stationed in Germany and halted a planned rotation of more than 4,000 US troops to Poland.
Rutte said that European allies have already stepped up to close a number of those gaps.
“In some cases, this has been thrown as a problem, since the US is moving away from its allies. But that is not true,” said Rutte.
“The US has made it clear that it is committed to NATO. That commitment comes with the expectation that the allies will equally share responsibility for our security here in Europe. …
“They made it clear that America’s nuclear deterrent is strong, and that it is important for Europe and Canada to do more in a common way, understanding that the US has responsibilities around the world that it needs to meet.”
