(Tribune News Service) — Canada will soon share with its allies a “credible, verifiable plan” to boost its military and defense spending by billions of dollars to meet NATO targets, Defense Minister Bill Blair said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who arrived in Washington on Monday for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, has been under scrutiny for failing to meet a pledge to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Canada is projected to spend just 1.33% this year, and even a former member of Trudeau’s government has accused him of risking the country’s security by failing to devote enough resources to defense.

But speaking at an event in the U.S. capital, Blair said he expects to unveil a plan this week to change that. “I think we have a very aggressive plan to move forward. I’m very confident that it’s going to bring us to that threshold,” he said at the Foreign Policy Security Forum.

Canada is on the low end of NATO allies in military outlays; 23 of 32 NATO members are already at the 2% threshold. A group of U.S. senators recently pressed Trudeau to ramp up spending, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expects a plan to do so.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at Canada in a speech on Monday, calling it “shameful” that the country hasn’t hit the 2% goal. “Talk about riding America’s coattails.”

The specter of a second term in the White House for Donald Trump — who has threatened not to defend allies that don’t spend enough on their own defense — and growing threats from Russia and China in the Arctic add urgency to the matter.

“We should be complacent because every American president will defend us. Oh, wait,” said Andrew Leslie, a retired lieutenant general who held high-ranking positions in the military and served as a member of parliament in Trudeau’s government from 2015 to 2019.

During a recent interview, Leslie laid out a thick stack of budget documents on the table to make his case that Trudeau’s treatment of defense as “discretionary” spending had put Canadians at risk.

The prime minister’s party recruited him to run for office, he said, with a promise they would take the subject seriously. The government introduced a defense strategy in 2017 that laid out about 110 objectives, but Leslie said it has met only a small number — none having to do with procurement, combat capability or increasing the military’s size.

“Prime Minister Trudeau has never been serious about defense. The numbers show it. The readiness of the Armed Forces shows it,” Leslie said. “He has never taken a personal interest in defense. He has not spent sufficient time with his Armed Forces. He is past redemption.”

Blair and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, both joining Trudeau at the summit, have previously said Canada plans to purchase a fleet of submarines that would push it over the 2% target.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told reporters that the U.S. will always push allies to do as much as possible, but Canada’s steadfast support of Ukraine is crucial to the alliance right now. “There are allies in NATO who are meeting 2% who do not support standing up for Ukraine,” she said Monday. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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