Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would support the Carney government in its $2.6 billion plan to boost Canada’s defence spending to hit NATO’s two per cent of gross domestic product. He also reiterated his calls for the Liberals to present a budget before the fall.
“We support getting back to the two per cent target as soon as possible. We will support additional money for our military,” Poilievre told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.
“That’s why we are calling on our government to bring in a budget, because all of this will require a budget. A budget that not only puts this money forward, clearly identifies where it comes from, but cuts waste in bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid, corporate welfare and other areas.”
Poilievre stressed the need for a detailed budget to prevent the military spending increase from negatively impacting Canadian taxpayers who are already facing financial hardship.
Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a $2.6 billion plan to boost defence spending on Monday, which he said would not be funded by increasing taxes.
The announcement comes as NATO looks to increase its target from the current two per cent of GDP to five per cent when the alliance’s leaders meet in The Hague for a summit later this month.
Currently, Canada only spends 1.37 per cent of its GDP on defence, well below NATO’s basic two per cent benchmark — a requirement established in 2006 and already surpassed by most allies.
The prime minister vowed that his government would not engage in any “creative accounting” to meet the two per cent requirement while pledging to do so without raising taxes.
When asked about NATO’s plan to increase the minimum requirement to 3.5 per cent and eventually 5 per cent of GDP, Carney said that Canada would meet the current target.
Carney indicated the funding would prioritize genuine needs and tangible outcomes over meeting rigid numerical targets set by NATO.
“Importantly, a component of that increased spending is what’s called a ‘defence industrial pledge,’ one and a half percentage points of GDP that’s spent on everything from resilience through to really foundational elements of defence,” Carney told reporters at Fort York Armoury in Toronto.
He said that may include things such as “critical minerals” and “AI quantum and other elements.”
“We feel really confident that we are in the zone of already meeting that requirement,” said Carney. “We have a strategy that’s looking to really build on those elements anyways.”
Carney said his government was comfortable with meeting an additional 1.5 per cent.
However, the prime minister said that moving past 3.5 per cent will require further discussions.
Of that sum, $2.6 billion will address the military personnel crisis. The Canadian Armed Forces currently faces a 13,000-member shortfall and struggles to meet recruitment and retention targets. The goal is to bring the number to 71,500 Regular and 30,000 Primary Reserve members by 2030.
Another $844 million will be allotted to repair and sustain equipment and infrastructure, including ageing submarines.
Two billion in spending will go to diversify Canada’s defence partnerships.
The government also plans to spend $2.1 billion domestically and reduce existing hurdles that prevent Canada’s defence industry from supplying the CAF with critical equipment to invest in new military aircraft, ships, submarines, vehicles and artillery.
An additional $135 million will be spent on defence-related investments for other government departments and agencies during the 2025-26 fiscal year.