Canada plans to hit NATO spending goal early and cut back reliance on US protection, Carney says | EUROtoday

Canada will meet NATO’s army spending guideline by early subsequent yr and diversify protection spending away from the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney stated Monday, asserting that Washington not performs a predominant position on the world stage.

The announcement means Canada will obtain NATO’s spending goal of two% of gross home product 5 years sooner than beforehand deliberate.

“Our army infrastructure and gear have aged, hindering our army preparedness,” Carney said. “Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half of our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. More broadly, we are too reliant on the United States.”

According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves. Canada previously said it was on track to meet NATO’s target by the end of the decade.

“Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants,” Carney said.

Canada is about to host U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders at a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Alberta on June 15-17, and before the NATO summit in Europe. NATO allies are poised to increase the commitment well beyond the 2% target.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week that most U.S. allies at NATO endorse Trump’s demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense needs and are ready to ramp up security spending even more.

Carney has said he intends to diversify Canada’s procurement and enhance the country’s relationship with the EU.

“We should no longer send three-quarters of our defense capital spending to America,” Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto. “We will invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as new radar, drones and sensors to monitor the seafloor and the Arctic.”

Canada has been in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe. Carney’s government is reviewing the purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets to see if there are other options.

“We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage. Today, that predominance is a thing of the past,” Carney said in French, one of Canada’s official languages.

He added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the United States became the global hegemon, noting that its strong gravitational pull became virtually irresistible and made the U.S. “our closest ally and dominant trading partner.”

“Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security,” Carney said.

Trump’s calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and Carney won the job of prime minister after promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump.

The prime minister said “a brand new imperialism threatens.”

“Middle powers compete for pursuits and a focus, figuring out that if they don’t seem to be on the desk, they are going to be on the menu,” Carney stated.

Carney stated the long-held view that Canada’s geographic location will defend Canadians is more and more archaic.

European allies and Canada have already been investing closely of their armed forces, in addition to on weapons and ammunition, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.