NATO’s two per cent defence spending target, derided only last summer as a “crass mathematical calculation” by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was feverishly embraced this week by the Liberal leadership hopefuls vying to replace him.
The statements represent a remarkable conversion for the governing party, which has looked upon the gross domestic product goal — even under intense allied pressure and the occasional public shaming — as arbitrary and meaningless.
“We’ve always questioned the two per cent as the be-all, end-all of evaluating contributions to NATO,” Trudeau said last July in Washington — after meeting with allied leaders and leading U.S. lawmakers and after belatedly committing to reach the benchmark by 2032.
Liberals lie.
