Mark Carney says Canada to hit Nato spending target this year

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced the biggest boost to Canada’s defence spending since the second world war in response to criticism from Donald Trump.

The US president has repeatedly accused Ottawa of failing to meet its Nato obligation to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence, claiming Washington already protects Canada so it makes sense for the country to become the 51st US state.

“Canada will achieve Nato’s 2 per cent target this year, half a decade ahead of schedule,” Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

“Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy Nato accountants,” he added.

Carney’s office said Ottawa’s defence spending will increase by C$9.3bn (US$6.8bn) this financial year, allowing it to reach the Nato target several years ahead of the previous goal of 2032.

In 2006 Nato countries agreed to spend the equivalent of 2 per cent of GDP on defence as part of the alliance’s burden sharing and efforts to counter emerging security threats from Russia and China.

Canada has persistently failed to meet Nato’s spending target, reaching just 1.35 per cent of GDP in 2024, according to a parliamentary budget report published last year.

Trump has criticised alliance members for failing to meet the target and since taking office in January has demanded they more than double defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.

He is expected to formally propose the change at a Nato summit in The Hague later this month.

While Nato allies have increased their military spending in the wake of Trump’s criticism, a host of countries in Europe, such as Spain, remain behind on their obligations.

Without mentioning Trump by name, Carney said “the US is beginning to monetise its hegemony”, and added “the threats that Canada faces are multiplying”.

“When we stand up for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and of the West Bank and Gaza, we are also standing up for the territorial integrity of the Canadian Arctic,” Carney said.

He pledged to invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as drones and sensors to monitor the seabed and the Arctic.

In March, he announced a C$6bn radar deal as part of its increasing Arctic region defence responsibilities and North American Aerospace Defense Command upgrades.