Bill Blair said the NATO requirement to spend two per cent of GDP on defence was a "magical threshold" that cabinet found uninspiring

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

First Reading is a daily newsletter keeping you posted on the travails of Canadian politicos, all curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.

This week, Defence Minister Bill Blair made a rare admission for a federal cabinet minister: He said he keeps trying to get the rest of cabinet to fund the Canadian military to NATO standards, but nobody’s biting.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s important, but it was really hard (to) convince people that that was a worthy goal,” Blair said in a Wednesday address to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a foreign affairs think tank.

Blair was speaking specifically about boosting Canadian defence spending to the NATO standard of two per cent of GDP, which he referred to as a “magical threshold.”

“Nobody knows what that means, they didn’t know how much that is and they didn’t know what we were going to spend money on, so I couldn’t make a defence policy argument to meet that spreadsheet target of two per cent,” he said.

Only a few years ago, it was pretty typical for NATO members to fall well short of the two-per-cent threshold. In 2018, for instance, Canada spending 1.23 per cent of GDP on defence put it roughly on par with Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal, among others.

But Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked a massive defence-spending boost among the alliance. Germany, most notably, greenlit a massive rearmament plan with the specific goal of hitting the NATO threshold.

This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Platformed will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

The effect is that Canada is now a conspicuous outlier among NATO members, with defence spending that ranks 26th out of 31 nations.

According to a 2023 report by the NATO Secretary General, Canada is the only member of the alliance to fail on both spending metrics tracked by the organization: The two-per-cent threshold, and the requirement that at least one-fifth of the defence budget be spent on equipment.

This is a perennial sticking point in Canada’s NATO membership. In February, both NATO Sec.-Gen. Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. ambassador to Canada David Cohen publicly chastised Canada for failing to deliver on its military commitments. Years earlier, U.S. president Donald Trump said Canada was “slightly delinquent” when it came to its NATO funding.

While the two-per-cent target is an arbitrary standard, set by a meeting of NATO defence ministers in 2006, Canada has faced a number of material consequences for its disproportionately threadbare military.

When NATO members shored up the alliance’s eastern flank against Russia in 2022, Canada was only able to pledge a contingent of 2,200 troops to Latvia, and that deployment initially lacked basic capabilities such as air defence and anti-drone technology.

When a 10-nation alliance mobilized to counter Houthi attacks on civilian shipping in the Red Sea, Canada was only able to deploy two officers to serve aboard a U.S. vessel.

Just last June, Canada was unable to participate in a NATO air exercise over Europe because almost all of the RCAF fleet was in the shop.

While Canadians have traditionally been rather lukewarm about their military in the post-Cold War era, a number of recent polls have shown measurable surges in support for higher defence spending.

A June 2023 Angus Reid Institute poll found 24 per cent of Canadians saying that “military preparedness” should be Canada’s top priority in foreign affairs. In 2015, just 12 per cent of Canadians held that view.

In August 2023, 75 per cent of respondents to an Ipsos poll said that Canada should boost its defence spending. Notably, this support wasn’t sparked by a public desire to meet NATO targets. Rather, it was to ensure the armed forces “can protect Canadian territory and sovereignty.”

In April 2024, the Canadian government outlined a major overhaul of its defence spending, including $8.1 billion on new equipment and a plan to purchase new fighter jets. The plan, if followed, will bring Canadian defence spending to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2029–30.

Blair was at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute to outline a planned $40-billion strategy to fund NORAD over the next 20 years, and his prepared remarks focused heavily on the various reasons a country like Canada might need to worry about defence spending, with Chinese and Russian expansionism in the Arctic being one major example.

“Most states are investing in new and emerging military technology, like long range cruise missiles, modern submarines and hypersonic weapons that move faster and are harder to detect,” he said.

Conservative MP Rachael Thomas was one of two Conservative MPs kicked out of the House of Commons on Tuesday for saying that the Speaker was acting in a “disgraceful” manner (you’re not allowed to question the Speaker’s integrity in House of Commons debates). But on Thursday, Thomas said that she did honour Fergus’ request to withdraw the comment and thus shouldn’t have been ejected. “Mr. Speaker, I stated that the Chair is acting in a disgraceful manner. I withdraw,” read an unofficial early transcript of House proceedings. Where it gets potentially scandalous is that the “I withdraw” part did not make its way into the official Hansard record, so it looks like Thomas simply ignored Fergus and repeated the insult.

Get all of these insights and more into your inbox by signing up for the First Reading newsletter here.

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Boll & Branch, Fable and Skylight, to name a few

Top hotel and dining experiences to remember

Comedian and TV personality creates family-focussed collection just in time for Mother's Day.

My client, Michelle, has had the same hairstyle for many years and was ready for a change.

From CHANEL soap to a wear-everywhere dress, here are five failsafe gift ideas for Mother's Day.

365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4

© 2024 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

You can manage saved articles in your account.

and save up to 100 articles!

You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.

QOSHE - FIRST READING: Defence minister says he keeps trying to boost military spending, but nobody lets him - Tristin Hopper
menu_open
Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close
Aa Aa Aa
- A +

FIRST READING: Defence minister says he keeps trying to boost military spending, but nobody lets him

24 0
03.05.2024

Bill Blair said the NATO requirement to spend two per cent of GDP on defence was a "magical threshold" that cabinet found uninspiring

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

First Reading is a daily newsletter keeping you posted on the travails of Canadian politicos, all curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.

This week, Defence Minister Bill Blair made a rare admission for a federal cabinet minister: He said he keeps trying to get the rest of cabinet to fund the Canadian military to NATO standards, but nobody’s biting.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s important, but it was really hard (to) convince people that that was a worthy goal,” Blair said in a Wednesday address to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a foreign affairs think tank.

Blair was speaking specifically about boosting Canadian defence spending to the NATO standard of two per cent of GDP, which he referred to as a “magical threshold.”

“Nobody knows what that means, they didn’t know how much that is and they didn’t know what we were going to spend money on, so I couldn’t make a defence policy argument to meet that spreadsheet target of two per cent,” he said.

Only a few years ago, it was pretty typical for NATO members to fall well short of the two-per-cent threshold. In 2018, for instance, Canada spending 1.23 per cent of GDP on defence put it roughly on par with Germany, The Netherlands and Portugal, among others.

But Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked a massive defence-spending boost among the alliance.........

© National Post


Get it on Google Play