Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

By Canadian Press

Carney vows Canada will meet 2% NATO spending pledge this year

Jun 9, 2025 | 8:53 AM

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will meet its NATO commitment and spend 2 per cent of national GDP on defence this year.

Canada is currently estimated to be spending about 1.4 per cent of GDP on defence and has long failed to meet the 2 per cent target.

Ottawa has come under intense pressure from allies recently to swiftly increase its military budget to levels not seen since the Cold War.

Today’s announcement comes just ahead of a major NATO meeting in the Netherlands set for later this month, where allied nations are expected to adopt a plan to hike the NATO member spending target to 5 per cent of national GDP.

Not long ago, Carney was only promising to meet the 2 per cent target by the end of the decade.

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Carney promised during the recent election campaign to move up Canada’s deadline for meeting the target by at least two years, to 2030.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.