An honor guard stands with U.S. and Canadian flags as they wait for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on July 8.Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press
The Biden administration is warning Canada and other NATO countries that are failing to pay their fair share in military spending to prepare for a dressing down at the alliance’s summit in Washington this week.
Michael Carpenter, a White House national-security official, said Monday that alliance members will hold countries’ “feet to the fire” if they have not yet fulfilled their decade-old pledge to spend 2 per cent of GDP on the military.
Another U.S. diplomatic official said there has been debate in the administration over how aggressively President Joe Biden should press the issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Part of the discussion is whether to shame Canada publicly or keep it private, the source said.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the U.S. government.
Canada has already been told in closed-door meetings that the U.S. government wants clarity on its defence-spending plans and a stronger commitment to hit the 2-per-cent target, said a Canadian industry source with knowledge of the talks. The Globe is not identifying the source who was not allowed to share details of the private discussions.
The 75th anniversary summit, which will bring together leaders of the 32 alliance members starting Tuesday, is taking place at a time of peril for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Members are bracing themselves for the possible return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency. Mr. Trump has repeatedly railed against NATO members who don’t meet the spending threshold and threatened not to defend them if they are attacked. There is also mounting concern that Mr. Biden, 81, is suffering from age-related decline, making it more likely he will lose to Mr. Trump.
Asked about Canada’s lack of a plan to keep its 2-per-cent promise, Mr. Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told a media briefing that countries that have reached the target will be cajoling others until they fall into line.
Out of 32 NATO members, 18 are expected to meet the 2-per-cent threshold this year.
“There will be a lot of allies holding each others’ feet to the fire in terms of defence-spending commitments,” he said. “I expect that that pressure on allies that are not at the 2-per-cent threshold to continue to be vocalized so that we have equitable burden-sharing.”
Mr. Carpenter said U.S. officials “hope to see a credible plan at some point” for Canada meeting its promises. He also praised Ottawa for being “very forward-leaning in terms of its support for Ukraine” against Russia’s invasion.
In a defence strategy released in April by Defence Minister Bill Blair, the federal government said it plans to increase spending to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2030, from 1.33 per cent, but does not indicate how or when it will reach 2 per cent. The U.S., by comparison, spent 3.49 per cent of its GDP last year on defence, more than US$900-billion.
The Canadian government sought to play down the possibility of friction ahead of the meetings.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador in Washington, said the U.S. is “very appreciative” of Ottawa’s commitment to Ukraine and of its role in protecting the Arctic through the NORAD missile defence system. Still, she said, Washington is “looking for every country to step up as much as they can” when it comes to military spending.
“I am not saying that the pressure that you recognize isn’t there. It is. But it is also coupled with a strong recognition that Canada is a steadfast ally in all respects,” Ms. Hillman told reporters in Washington on Monday.
A senior Canadian official said talk of tension between the U.S. and Canada over the 2-per-cent threshold is overblown. During Mr. Biden’s tête-à-tête with Mr. Trudeau in Ottawa last year, it didn’t even come up, the official said. The Globe is not naming the official because the discussions were confidential.
Canada is already under mounting pressure to increase defence spending. In May, 23 U.S. senators, including both Republicans and Democrats, told Mr. Trudeau they were “concerned and profoundly disappointed” about his lack of a path to 2 per cent.
The Business Council of Canada has also publicly demanded that Ottawa step up its game. John Dickerman, the head of the lobby’s Washington office, said Canada’s lagging on defence spending could also hurt its trade with the U.S.
“We are very concerned that if Canada is not seen as a reliable ally on defence and national security, that could peter into discussions on economic security,” he said, citing U.S. attempts to move supply chains out of China as an example of the way Washington now ties trade and security together.
In recent months, U.S. officials have taken different tacks with Ottawa.
Julianne Smith, Mr. Biden’s ambassador to NATO, used a CTV interview to single out Canada as the only NATO country without a concrete plan for reaching the 2-per-cent target. The U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, has been more conciliatory, saying that spending benchmark is not the only metric by which the country is judged.
Mr. Trudeau’s government, for its part, has also sent mixed messages since its defence plan received a lacklustre response.
Mr. Blair subsequently said that the spending levels in it were only minimums and uncosted military procurements might put Canada over 2 per cent. But Treasury Board President Anita Anand dismissed the need to further increase defence spending, in part because the military doesn’t have the procurement expertise required to spend the money faster.
Mr. Trudeau arrived in Washington on Monday for meetings with U.S. legislators and business leaders ahead of the summit.
Among others, he sat down with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the two top congressional Democratic leaders, as well as the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. Ms. Hillman said Mr. Trudeau wanted a meeting with House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of Mr. Trump’s, but he “wasn’t available.”
On Monday evening, Mr. Trudeau attended a reception at the Canadian embassy that included at least three of Mr. Biden’s cabinet members, Alejandro Mayorkas, Xavier Becerra and Katherine Tai, as well as White House officials Shalanda Young and Jon Finer.