About two in three Canadians say they would prefer increasing defence spending to reach the 2 percent target committed by member countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a new poll finds.
Conducted by Nanos Research, the poll found that 64 percent of Canadians support spending 2 percent of their country’s gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, instead of maintaining the current 1.4 percent (21 percent) or spending less than 1.4 percent (8 percent), as part of its commitment as a NATO ally.
In 2006, defence ministers of member countries had agreed to commit a minimum of 2 percent of their GDP to defence spending to “continue to ensure the Alliance’s military readiness.”
Canada has not achieved the alliance’s target to date. A report by the Parliamentary Budget Office last June said the country spent only about 1.4 percent of its GDP in 2021.
The survey, commissioned by CTV News and published on May 8, noted that Canadians aged 55 and over are “significantly more likely” (72.8 percent) to prefer increasing the spending to meet NATO’s target compared to younger Canadians aged between 18 and 34 (47.6 percent).
The findings were based on 1,080 hybrid telephone and online random surveys of Canadians aged 18 and above from April 30 to May 3.
A report by The Washington Post on April 19 alleged that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had privately told NATO officials that Canada will never meet the military alliance’s defence-spending target for its member countries.
When pressed by reporters on the same day, Trudeau said Canada will always be a “reliable partner” to NATO and the world.
He went on to say his government “will continue to be working on investing in giving the support necessary to the men and women of the Canadian Forces to deliver” when asked to address Canada’s plans in meeting NATO’s defence spending goal.
According to the Nanos poll, most Canadians were concerned that the country’s current military operational abilities “are a source of tension” with other NATO allies and defence partners.
Nearly 70 percent of them said they were either concerned (29 percent) or somewhat concerned (40 percent), while 15 percent said they were not concerned and 13 percent said somewhat concerned. A small 3 percent said they were unsure.
Most respondents (59 percent) also said Canada should increase its military involvement in patrolling the Arctic given it is a member of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) responsible for defending North American airspace.
Thirty-three percent said they would prefer the country to keep its involvement at about the same level, while 3 percent support decreasing the involvement. Five percent of the respondents said they were unsure.
Threats, particularly from China and Russia, are growing in the Arctic region, according to Defence Minister Anita Anand when she testified before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs on April 24.
She said Canada must do “whatever is necessary” to defend the region.
“Our analysis of the threat is going to proceed on the basis that we need to do whatever is necessary—in terms of capabilities and human resources—to undertake the defence of that region, both individually, through NORAD, and collectively with other Arctic countries.”
Matthew Horwood and Peter Wilson contributed to this report.