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OTTAWA – A new NATO report says Canada saw a small bump in defence spending last year, but also notes that the country remains in the bottom half when compared to the rest of the military alliance.
The report says Canada spent just over one per cent of its GDP on the military last year, which represented an increase from the previous year when it spent slightly less than one per cent.
But Canada was still far short of the target of two per cent of GDP that all NATO members agreed to back in 2014.
The figures have taken on new importance following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has complained about NATO allies not spending enough on their own defence.
Only four allies — Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Spain — spent less than Canada as a percentage of GDP, while Hungary and Slovenia spent the same proportion.
Speaking at an event in Brussels to mark the report’s release, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he expects all members to reach the two-per-cent goal.
