US Threats Force Canada’s Liberals to Boost Military Goals
This article is for subscribers only.
Canada must quickly ramp up its defense spending to reach its NATO target while also weaning itself off US-made military equipment, according to the contenders to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.
The four candidates for the Liberal Party leadership — Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and Frank Baylis — sparred Tuesday during a televised debate over how fast Canada can roll out the billions of dollars in new outlays it would take to bring defense spending up to 2% of gross domestic product. That’s the goal North Atlantic Treaty Organization members have agreed to, and Canada is currently well short of it.