No sooner had Canada committed to immediately meeting NATO’s long-standing target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence – an increase of $9.3-billion annually – than the goalposts shifted. Dramatically.
At last week’s NATO meetings, a new benchmark emerged: 5 per cent of GDP. While 1.5 per cent of that could include spending on cybersecurity, infrastructure and defence-related technology, the overall target is a staggering $50-billion increase.
