Canada’s defense investment plans put it on track to meet NATO guideline, minister says [Video]

BRUSSELS – Canada looks on track to meet NATO’s military spending guideline by the end of the decade, Defense Minister Bill Blair said Friday, notably by boosting investment in the Arctic near its shared border with Russia as the region warms quickly because of climate change.

After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO allies agreed to halt budget cuts and move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. Canada was barely spending 1% at the time.

Last year, as it became clear that Russia’s war with Ukraine would grind on, they decided that 2% should be a spending minimum. According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023.

“Our country finds itself at a pivotal moment. Our sovereignty and our security are no longer guaranteed by our geographic location,” Blair said. Canada is surrounded by three oceans with NATO’s biggest ally, the U.S., as …