Canada plans to hit NATO spending target early and reduce US defense reliance, Carney says

TORONTO (AP) - Canada will meet NATO’s military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense spending away from the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.

Carney said Canada will achieve NATO's spending target of 2% of gross domestic product five years earlier than it had previously planned.

"Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military 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 spending target by the end of the decade.

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

The announcement of increased spending came as Canada is about to host a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Alberta on June 15-17, and before the NATO summit in Europe. It also comes as 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 U.S. President Donald 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 that 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.

Carney said that the U.S. "is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its (relative) contributions to our collective security."

"Middle powers compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not at the table, they will be on the menu,” 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.

Carney said that the long-held view that Canada's geographic location will protect Canadians is becoming increasingly archaic.

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