Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on March 24.The Canadian Press
New NATO figures suggest Canada is even farther from meeting the military alliance’s spending target than previously believed.
NATO estimated last June that Canada would spend about 1.39 per cent of its national GDP on defence in 2021.
But in a report released today the alliance has lowered that figure, estimating Canada spent only about 1.36 per cent of GDP on its military last year.
While the difference appears miniscule, it nonetheless moves Canada farther from the two per cent spending target that all NATO members agreed to in 2014 and reaffirmed during a special meeting last week.
It also comes as most allies are moving in the other direction, with only four of the 29 other NATO members set to spend less of their GDP on defence than Canada.
Defence Minister Anita Anand says this morning that the government has committed to increase defence spending, noting a federal budget will be presented next week.
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