NATO head ‘fairly confident’ Canada will hit new defence spending target

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence that Canada will be able to meet the alliance’s higher defence spending target, which is expected to be set at the next leaders’ summit in June. He mentioned that the spending benchmark may increase to five percent of a country’s gross domestic product, up from the current two percent target.

In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane, Rutte emphasized the need to ramp up the defence spending benchmark in order to prepare for the next five years and protect member countries against adversaries like Russia and China. He stressed the importance of ensuring that Russian President Vladimir Putin will never attack NATO member countries.

Rutte praised Canada for developing a plan to reach the two percent spending target by the end of the current fiscal year. Defence Minister David McGuinty hinted at the possibility of exceeding this pledge to meet the spending target. Rutte did not meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit before the president’s early exit but stated that Trump is fully committed to NATO and expects allies to increase their defence spending to match the U.S.

The NATO Secretary General highlighted the importance of increasing defence spending to make Canadian and European contributions more equal to the U.S., which would strengthen the alliance. He also commended Trump for initiating direct talks with Putin to address the conflict in Ukraine.

Rutte acknowledged Canada’s support for Ukraine and NATO’s commitment to supplying the country with necessary resources in its fight against Russia. Following Russia’s recent attack on Kyiv, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced tougher sanctions against Russia and a $2 billion package for Ukraine, including funding for helicopters, drones, ammunition, and armoured vehicles. Canada also extended a $2.3 billion loan to Ukraine for infrastructure and public system reconstruction, to be repaid with interest from frozen Russian assets in Europe.

In conclusion, Rutte praised Canada for its support to Ukraine and emphasized the importance of increasing defence spending to strengthen the alliance and protect member countries against potential threats.