Retired Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie says Canada will soon face a tough response from the United States for failing to meet its defense spending targets after President-elect Donald Trump’s dramatic political comeback.
Leslie, a former member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal caucus, told the House of Commons National Defense Committee on Thursday that the government’s “sense of urgency” to commit more resources to the Canadian Armed Forces and meet NATO defense spending commitments. He said he couldn’t feel it. .
But senior leadership in Washington will be “pretty transactional” and “looking for quick results,” Leslie said during an appearance to discuss Canada’s latest defense policy.
“The next few months are going to be incredibly tough for us because there are a lot of very difficult questions that will come up in the context of North American defense, NATO contributions, North American free trade, all of which are related,” he said. “I am doing so,” he said. .
Ottawa will soon have to focus on the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement scheduled for 2026, but during the campaign it threatened to impose full tariffs on imports that NATO members haven’t paid. Not to mention the unpredictable president-elect of the United States, who spent his campaign lashing out at the United States. It’s their fair share.
Just over 24 hours after President Trump declared victory, Prime Minister Trudeau reinstated a key cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and appointed Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to chair it.
Freeland led negotiations on the new North American Free Trade Agreement, signed during President Trump’s first term.
The committee, which will meet for the first time on Friday, will also include Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Trade Minister Mary Ng and Defense Minister Bill Blair.
Trade, national security, immigration and defense will all be high on the agenda.
Last February, President Trump said he would not defend NATO countries that are not spending agreed defense spending and urged Russia to do “whatever they want” to those countries. He suggested that he intended to do so.
The 32 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have agreed that each country will spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on national defence, but Canada is the first member not to do so this year. It is one of nine countries.
According to NATO statistics, Canada is expected to spend the equivalent of 1.37 per cent of GDP on defense this year, a setback for Canada. The Ministry of Defense predicts this number will rise in the coming years, rising to 1.76% by 2030.
Canada’s defense spending is becoming increasingly problematic south of the border.
This summer, Prime Minister Trudeau, who faced harsh criticism from MPs in Washington, pledged at a NATO summit that Canada would meet the alliance’s goals by 2032.
Ottawa has said it will meet its goal by purchasing up to 12 new submarines, for which prices have not yet been determined. But Leslie said Canada should significantly accelerate its spending and procurement timelines.
“It won’t be achieved until 2032. This is an arbitrary number chosen by the prime minister to get him out of a very tight spot on his visit to Washington,” Leslie said. “There is nothing in the fiscal framework to indicate that the Government of Canada is serious about meeting that 2 per cent.”
Kelly Craft, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said near the end of the election that Canada would be wise to accelerate its timeline if Trump wins.
After Trump’s victory, Prime Minister Tony Blair downplayed those concerns and defended Canada’s current plan to meet its goals.
“We also want to reach 2%,” he said after a West Bloc caucus on Wednesday. “We made a commitment to make it happen. We have a plan and are working hard towards it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
