Canada’s New Prime Minister Plans to Boost Defense Spending Following Trump’s Remarks

Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, plans to increase defense spending due to the threat to the country’s sovereignty from the United States.

POLITICO reported on this, citing the Prime Minister.

According to the PM, the increase in defense spending is meant to send a clear signal regarding Donald Trump’s expansionist vision: Canada is prepared to defend itself in the event of unforeseen actions by the United States.

Carney emphasized Trump’s desire to seize Canadian land and resources by any means—military or political.

“In this crisis we have to prepare for America’s threats to our very sovereignty. They want our land, our resources, they want our water, they want our country,” Carney said.

Carney says his government would spend CAD $30.9 billion on defense over the next four years and meet Canada’s NATO defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP by 2030 — two years ahead of its current pledge.

In 2024, Canada spent 1.37 per cent of GDP on defense, well below the target.

Carney also highlighted the threat from China, particularly in the northern regions of the country, where Chinese presence is growing through infiltration into Arctic Indigenous communities.

Half of the spending will go to new military equipment and weapons for the Canadian Armed Forces, such as submarines and icebreakers to monitor and protect coastlines, including in the Arctic, against Russian and Chinese aggression. This includes new drones for its seas and skies.

The plan calls for three tranches of spending: The first will go toward recruiting new members to the Canadian Armed Forces. The second will fund new kits for servicemen, including women, self-propelled artillery systems and ground-based air defense capabilities for use in Canada or for deployment to Europe. The government previously announced that it was working with Australia to develop early-warning radar defense systems.

The third tranche of spending will go to quantum computing and AI, a field Canada leads in research. The military could use AI in autonomous vehicles, war games and to process intelligence information, an official with the Liberal Party explained during a briefing ahead of the platform release.

Militarnyi previously reported that Canada was in talks with the European Union to join a new initiative focused on expanding the military industry and reducing reliance on the United States.