NATO 75th Anniversary | Justin Trudeau on the Defensive Over Canada’s Defence Spending

(Washington) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared defensive about Canada’s defence spending as he delivered remarks ahead of a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in Washington on Tuesday.

The prime minister addressed about 100 people at the Canadian embassy, ​​touting the country’s leadership within the alliance on climate change and the recent accreditation of NATO’s first centre of excellence in Montreal, which focuses on climate change and security.

He also addressed the elephant in the room: the fact that allies are seeking assurances that his government will present a plan to meet the defense spending target it agreed to last year.

“When we took office, Canada was spending less than 1% of its GDP on defence each year, but we promised to change that and we delivered,” he said.

Yet Canada is far from reaching the target agreed to by NATO countries about a decade ago of spending at least 2% of national gross domestic product on defence. Canada’s current spending is about 1.4% of GDP.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, revealed that she has been pressured on the issue by American officials, who expect each country to do as much as it can.

M^me Hillman joined Mr. Trudeau on Tuesday morning for a bipartisan meeting with U.S. senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The meeting included some of the 23 senators who wrote Trudeau a letter in May urging him to come to the summit with a clear plan to meet NATO’s goal. Under Canada’s new defence policy, the federal government estimates its defence spending will reach 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2029-30. The senators called that “deeply disappointing” in the letter.

After the meeting, Mr. McConnell denounced Canada for its spending failures.

“Shared values ​​and close economic ties have always been the strength of the U.S.-Canada relationship,” McConnell wrote on the X Network. “But it is time for our northern ally to make a serious investment in the power needed to help preserve prosperity and security.”

On Monday afternoon, Defence Minister Bill Blair said he looked forward to discussing with allies Canada’s “credible and verifiable” defence spending plan.

Ukraine as a priority

NATO’s 32 leaders are celebrating the 75th anniversary this week^e anniversary of the alliance, as Russia intensifies its aggression against Ukraine.

War will top the agenda at the three-day summit after Russian missile attacks on Monday left deaths and destruction, including at a major children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Robust new measures to support Ukraine are expected to be announced at the summit. Officials say there will be information on the war-torn country’s efforts to join NATO.

At last year’s summit, participants agreed that Ukraine should join the alliance once conditions allow, namely the end of the Russian invasion and Ukraine’s implementation of a series of democratic reforms to eradicate corruption.

Mr. Trudeau is expected to stress the need to continue supporting Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a Washington memorial Tuesday morning dedicated to the millions of people who died in the Great Famine of 1932-33, known as the Holodomor.

He announced on social media that he plans to ask NATO allies for more air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, more money and “necessary decisive action by America and Europe” to defeat Russia.

Strengthening ties with the Americans

Topics such as electric vehicles, critical minerals and energy transformation will be covered.

Mr. Trudeau also met separately Tuesday with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, with the agenda including electric vehicles, critical minerals and the clean energy transition.

Ahead of this fall’s presidential election, the Liberal government launched a new Team Canada approach that saw ministers and diplomats, as well as Mr. Trudeau himself, travel across the United States to ensure Canadians are prepared for any eventuality.

The possibility of a second Donald Trump presidency looms over Canada, after Justin Trudeau was criticized for not being prepared for the first. Their relationship has been rocky throughout Mr. Trump’s first term.

Mr Trump is also at the forefront of concerns at the NATO summit, following his remarks that the United States would not defend members of the NATO alliance that fail to meet their spending targets.

Biden’s cognitive health still under debate

Trudeau didn’t take the bait when asked to comment on the presidential race, which has become even more heated following President Joe Biden’s dismal performance in a recent debate.

The prime minister dodged a reporter’s question about whether he had concerns about Mr Biden’s age or mental acuity, saying only that he was honoured to meet with American politicians.

Mr Biden tried to convince allies and Americans that he was up to the task in a critical speech at a 75th anniversary celebration.^e anniversary of the alliance on Tuesday evening.

The president promised more air defense systems to Ukraine at the opening of the summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, where NATO was founded in 1949.

Mr. Biden also presented NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor.