MacDougall: Canada’s weak defence spending is losing us friends

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We all have a friend like Canada.

You know, the friend who insists on going out to the fancy restaurant but is the last to reach for their wallet. That friend whose deeds never seem to match their words. Right now, Canada is that “friend” in too many major world capitals.

The fact that Canada has, once again, shown up to a NATO Summit with cheap words and extended timelines — it’s now 2032 to get to two per cent of GDP on defence — should be disqualifying. It was one thing to show up with nothing when the alarm bells weren’t ringing; it’s another to show up when the Russians have their foot on the throat of a sovereign nation and their eyes on other targets.

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Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has been a clarifying moment for the alliance. And a majority of members have met the test. Twenty-three of NATO’s 32 members will have hit the required two per cent of GDP target for military spending by the end of this year. The invasion has prompted Sweden and Finland to join the club. The alliance is getting stronger, its focus sharper.

So what’s Canada’s excuse? Why another eight years?

With federal spending at record levels, it’s not an unwillingness to spend. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and this Liberal government love to spend money. The most recent federal budget added another $52.9 billion to the already enormous pile going out the door. But Trudeau doesn’t love to spend it on harder assets, the kinds that win wars.

Perhaps this is because our country is privileged to sit between two oceans and atop the United States. Maybe it’s a reflection of the absolute dogpile that is Canadian defence procurement. It could be that defence spending commitments today don’t bring vote commitments tomorrow.

Then again, the utter inability of the Canadian government to procure new military kit is a multi-government, multi-generational failure. From one of the world’s biggest militaries following the Second World War to a handful of aging planes anytime someone asks us for a hand. We’ve been more talk than action for awhile now.

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It’s not that the current government misunderstands the moment it’s in; the preamble text to the sections of the most recent budget detailing how the government is “Protecting Canadians and Defending Democracy” read like someone knows the world is a bad and increasingly dangerous place. The government’s language on Ukraine is strong. It’s just that there is precious little to back those words up. Canada is being that “friend.”

And people are noticing. Important people.

Mike Johnson, the U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, a.k.a. the man who finally unblocked the U.S.’s military money for Ukraine, accused Canada of “riding America’s coattails.” U.S. senators have written to Trudeau asking for better. The leaders of the Baltic nations want more, too. And if that weren’t enough motivation, the slow-motion implosion of Joe Biden’s political viability is increasing the odds of a Donald Trump sequel in the White House. It’s time to get moving.

Whatever you think of the possible future president, he’s quite easy to read. Indeed, Trudeau has already taken his course — and done all right in it. What’s more, the prime minister would gain the same esteem in Washington under the current administration, and around the world, for spending more on the military. If Canada fails on NATO now, with so much on the line, it will only lead to more pain later.

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Sooner or later, people stop hanging out with that “friend.” NATO could very easily act as a proxy for other international groupings. Our membership in the G7 is a fluke of history. Our place in the G20 was rock-solid in the midst of the global financial crisis but has drifted as the worst of that crisis receded. If we’re not serious at NATO, we risk not being treated seriously elsewhere.

So call it “Trump Insurance.” Call it “the spot at the Big Boy Table levy.” Call it whatever you like. But spend the money.

Andrew MacDougall is a London-based communications consultant and ex-director of communications to former prime minister Stephen Harper.  

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