Canada has fallen short of its commitment to NATO to spend 2% of its annual economic output on military spending that would cost $ 75 billion over the next half decade to cover, according to a new parliamentary budget committee report. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance dedicated to the collective defense of its 30 members, including Canada. In 2006, NATO defense ministers agreed to commit at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product to defense spending to ensure the alliance’s readiness. In 2014, they renewed this commitment. Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Zirou says there is no chance that Canada will achieve its NATO goal in the next five years at the current level of government military spending. “Based on our analysis, the 2 percent of GDP target remains unattainable in the medium term,” Zirou said on Thursday. However, Canada will make some progress, he added. This fiscal year, 2022-2023, Canada’s $ 36.3 billion in military spending is $ 1.33 percent of GDP, and that will improve on budget commitments of $ 51 billion, or $ 1.59 billion. one hundred of GDP in 2026-27. But reaching 2 percent would require a lot more money – about $ 13 billion to $ 18 billion each year for the next five years, or about $ 75 billion. Ottawa has faced pressure from allies to increase its military spending, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow’s aggression represents the biggest global security crisis in decades and has pushed Western countries to increase defense spending – especially Germany, which has moved away from its pacifism since reunification and has allocated $ 113 billion in additional spending. its armed forces. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trinto, however, offered only modest increases in its budget for April – far less than those suggested by Defense Minister Anita Anand. Ms Anand told CBC-TV in mid-March that she had proposed “aggressive options” for the cabinet, some of which could push military spending above the 2 per cent target. Defense analysts estimate that this would cost an additional $ 17 billion a year. But the 2022 budget yielded just an extra $ 1 billion or $ 2 billion in each of the next four years, rising to more than $ 3 billion in the fifth year. Figures released by NATO show that Canada is almost behind the package in military spending as a percentage of GDP, along with Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg. However, only eight of NATO’s 30 members are well on their way to achieving the 2 percent target in 2021, according to the same figures: Greece, the United States, Poland, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. France is relatively close to 1.93%. Military spending to calculate a country’s compliance with the NATO target includes the Canadian Coast Guard. One of the challenges for all countries is that as their economic output increases, so does their commitment to NATO. Thus, although Canada’s defense spending increased by 67% between 2014 and 2021, it simply does not keep pace with GDP growth. Our Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
