US officers complained that Ottawa’s “protection shortfalls” are “straining companion relationships” within the North Atlantic bloc
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has advised NATO officers in non-public that Canada will “by no means” attain the bloc’s navy spending goal, in keeping with a leaked Pentagon doc obtained by the Washington Publish.
Although NATO requires member states to spend a minimum of 2% of their gross home product (GDP) on protection, Trudeau has knowledgeable the alliance that “Canada won’t ever attain 2% protection spending,” the doc says, noting that Ottawa’s navy funds has not exceeded 1.4% of its financial output in practically 30 years.
Obtained as a part of a trove of leaked intelligence information which first appeared on-line in March, the doc goes on to quote US complaints about its northern neighbor, saying that “Widespread protection shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities, whereas straining companion relationships and alliance contributions” inside NATO.
“Politically motivated” procurement choices have additionally left elements of the Canadian navy underequipped, the leaked evaluation says, observing that almost all of its 89 Leopard II tanks “require intensive upkeep.” In a single unit of 40 tanks, solely 9 are operational, whereas the navy now has simply half of the pilots it wants for full readiness.
These “enduring” deficiencies prompted the Canadian navy to conclude earlier this yr that it “couldn’t conduct a significant operation whereas concurrently sustaining its NATO battle group management [in Latvia] and support to Ukraine,” the doc provides.
When requested about Canada’s spending shortfalls earlier this week, Trudeau all however sidestepped the query, saying Ottawa would “do its share” whereas explaining that “governments are challenged with an entire bunch of various priorities that we’ve got to… get the steadiness proper on.”
In keeping with NATO, Canada presently spends round 1.29% of its GDP on protection.
Reached by the Publish, Protection Ministry spokesman Daniel Minden stated Canada continues to make “landmark investments to equip our armed forces,” citing the acquisition of 88 F-35 fighter jets for $19 billion earlier this yr. Whereas Minden added that Ottawa’s present coverage requires a 70% increase in protection spending by 2026, Canada will nonetheless fall in need of NATO’s 2% requirement even when it meets that aim.
You may share this story on social media:
Supply hyperlink
