PM, NATO leaders gear for spending debate

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders are gearing up for what already promises to be a lively debate on defence spending at the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels next week.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Trudeau is looking forward to meeting with the 28 other NATO leaders to discuss ways to reinforce peace and security among nations.

“Throughout the summit’s discussions and working sessions, the prime minister will reiterate Canada’s commitment to playing an active role in the alliance, and a strong and constructive role in the world,” said Trudeau’s press secretary Eleanore Catenaro.

The PMO said that prior to the summit, Trudeau will visit Canadian troops in Latvia, where Canada is leading a NATO battle group established as the alliance’s response to Russia’s surprise annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of eastern Ukraine.

The prospect of conflict among North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders is looming on the horizon, thanks to a series of pointed letters from U.S. President Donald Trump to leaders of several NATO allies — including Canada — calling on them to finally meet the alliance’s defence spending targets.

The Liberals promised last year to increase spending on the military by 70 per cent over the next 10 years, but Canada continues to fall short of NATO’s target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence.

In 2017, NATO’s preliminary estimates showed Canada spent 1.29 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, up from 1.16 per cent in 2016.