(Ottawa) Canada appears on track to meet NATO military spending guidelines by the end of the decade, Defense Minister Bill Blair said Friday, in part because of increases in investments in the Arctic, near its shared border with Russia, as the region rapidly warms due to climate change.
After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO allies agreed to end budget cuts and spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense within ten years .
Canada spent barely 1% of its GDP on it at the time.
Bill Blair said he expects Canada’s defense spending to reach at least 1.75% of GDP by 2029, but other investments, including replacing the aging submarine fleet of the country or the purchase of integrated air defense and missile systems, would likely push this figure beyond the recommended 2%.
According to the most recent NATO data, Canada spends 1.33% of its GDP on its military budget.
Additionally, Blair said that in close coordination with allies, a Canadian-led battle group in Latvia is being expanded to brigade size.
“I think that inevitably takes us to over 2% of defense spending. But I have work to do to be able to express that both to my own country and to our allies,” he said.
Canada also plans to purchase surveillance planes and helicopters, as well as replenish its ammunition reserves.
“Our country is at a pivotal moment. Our sovereignty and security are no longer guaranteed by our geographic location,” argued Bill Blair. Canada is surrounded by three oceans and neighbors its largest NATO ally, the United States.
“But the new threat environment, the greater accessibility of our Arctic, new technologies and the actions of our adversaries have taught us that we must be ready,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Bel
On the social network X, Minister Blair announced earlier Friday morning that the government was donating 900 Canadian-built drones to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expects about two-thirds of the alliance’s 32 member nations to spend 2 percent of their GDP on their defense budgets this year, compared with just three countries ten years ago.