A three-day meeting among Canada’s premiers ended with provincial and territorial leaders calling on Ottawa to quickly ramp up defence spending in order to protect the country’s trade relationship with the United States ahead of its upcoming election.
At the closing news conference of the Council of the Federation meetings in Halifax, multiple premiers highlighted the importance of Canada’s NATO commitment to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence.
“It’s really important we meet those obligations on the world stage,” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said Wednesday.
“For Canada and its relationship with the United States — we are significant trading partners, we want them to respect us fully, in all aspects, including our ability to honour obligations.”
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he expects to hit NATO’s defence spending target in 2032 — a newly announced timeline that came after days of pressure from other countries.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he would not commit to the alliance’s spending goal. He said last week that’s because he doesn’t make promises he cannot keep.
On Wednesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called on Ottawa to meet the target before 2032 in order to protect Arctic sovereignty and the country’s relationship with the United States.
Kinew said many jobs in Manitoba are linked to trade with the U.S. and being a good NATO partner is essential for the relationship between the two countries to “flourish.”
“It’s an investment in our military and defence, but this is also an economic investment,” he said during Wednesday’s closing press conference.
“And if we don’t make this investment, the next U.S. administration is likely to cause … some consternation when it comes to the super important relationship with U.S. trade to create jobs and economic opportunities across Canada.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby said due to Canada’s current military funding plans, there’s a sense of “anxiety” about a potential Donald Trump administration.
“Having a tight relationship with the United States is really important. And I think it’s unambiguous, the message from a potentially incoming Republican administration, around what their expectations are from Canada in terms of investments in defence,” Eby said Wednesday.
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Canada’s premiers say Ottawa must meet NATO spending target to keep U.S.’s respect (msn.com)
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