U.S. report claims Trudeau told NATO Canada will never meet its military spending target
Washington Post report says Canadian allies fret over what they allege is chronic underfunding
A massive leak of U.S. national security documents has now spilled over into Canada.
The Washington Post says it has seen a Pentagon document criticizing Canada's military readiness among materials allegedly posted online by a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested last week.
The purported document, which CBC has not seen, makes two broad claims, according to the Post.
First, it says that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told NATO officials privately that Canada will never reach the military spending target agreed to by members of the alliance.
Second, the document claims wide-ranging deficiencies in Canada's military capabilities are a source of tension with allies and defence partners.
"Widespread defence shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities," the document says, according to the Post. "[Meanwhile it is] straining partner relationships and alliance contributions."
The Post says the document bears the seal of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggesting it was produced for the senior leadership of the U.S. Department of Defense.
The document reportedly cites multiple points of tension between Canada and its NATO allies. Germany reportedly is concerned about whether Canada can keep helping Ukraine while meeting its NATO pledges.
Other NATO countries, according to the Post's report, have complained that Canada has not made good on a promise to increase its presence in Latvia, while the U.S. is seeking a faster modernization of Arctic defence technology.
Turkey reportedly is disappointed in Canada's refusal to assist in transporting humanitarian aid after February's deadly earthquake, while Haiti's government is frustrated by Canada's reluctance to lead a multilateral security mission there.
Asked about the report Wednesday, Trudeau defended Canada's defence spending, which is growing significantly.
Planned increases will see Canada's defence spending grow by $15 billion, or 40 per cent, within several years. Ottawa also has promised to buy F-35 fighter jets and modernize NORAD.
"I continue to say, and will always say, that Canada is a reliable partner to NATO, [a] reliable partner around the world," Trudeau told reporters while entering the daily question period.
Fewer than half of NATO members have reached the alliance's agreed-upon target of spending two per cent of their GDP on defence.
Canada ranks among the lowest spenders within NATO as a share of national GDP. In terms of actual dollars spent, it ranks among the highest.
Andrew Leslie, a former senior military official and onetime Liberal member of Parliament, said he agrees with the assessment in the leaked document.
In an interview with CBC's Power and Politics, he contrasted Canada's past military contributions with what he described as meagre current ones and suggested it's happening at a time of heightened tension and conflict, when other countries are looking to Canada for help.
WATCH | Allies are 'decrying the state of our readiness,' says retired general
"Are we pulling our weight? Are we stepping up to the plate? No, we're not," Leslie told host David Cochrane.
"There's absolutely no doubt that the United States is getting increasingly irritated with our slow and reluctant ways of spending money on defence capability."
Trudeau has been non-committal when asked about reaching that two per cent target. In private, the Post says — quoting from the document — Trudeau has "told NATO officials that Canada will never reach 2 per cent defence spending."
In a media statement, a spokesperson for Defence Minister Anita Anand said Canada has "the sixth-largest defence budget among the Alliance's members."
"Our commitment to Euro-Atlantic and global security is ironclad and we continue to make landmark investments to equip our Armed Forces," said Daniel Minden, citing the planned purchase of F-35s, the modernization of NORAD, efforts to expand the Canadian-led NATO battle group in Latvia to brigade level and Canada's aid contributions to Ukraine.
"Canada will continue to grow its military capacity to meet the challenges of today's world," he added. "Overall, Canada's defence policy increases our defence spending by over 70 per cent between 2017 and 2026. We also announced $8 billion in additional defence spending in Budget 2022."
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