NATO chief calls on allies to 'step up' defence spending, after Trudeau vows to assess commitments

Trudeau announces new measures to help Ukraine During his visit to Berlin, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is sending another $50 million in specialized equipment to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says it’s time for NATO allies to “step up” defence spending, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence, Stoltenberg praised Canada’s contributions to the alliance’s objectives to date, including military training and equipment, but noted all allies could do more.

“Canada is contributing in many ways to our collective defence, to our shared security. Canada is the lead nation in the Baltic region with the battle group [Operation Reassurance],” he said.

“But then of course I would love to see all allies to do even more and therefore I call on all allies to step up.”

Stoltenberg’s appeal comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated on Monday that the Canadian government is open to enhanced military support, though he stopped short of any formal commitment.

“We need to make sure that the women and men who served in the Canadian Armed Forces have all the equipment necessary to be able to stand strongly as we always have as members of NATO and we will continue to look at what more we can do,” he said, speaking alongside his British and Dutch counterparts.

The NATO head said he “welcomes” these comments.

The alliance has an agreed-upon target to spend two per cent of GDP on defence but Canada lags behind other members, spending an estimated 1.39 per cent last year.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. has already exceeded the two per cent target and Germany, having previously trailed behind, committed to boost support above the target after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trudeau has previously pledged to inject billions of dollars into Canada’s military over the next 20 years. Given the circumstances in Europe, it will be a key line item to watch in the upcoming federal budget.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Germany right now, for what she says are discussions about the changing global geo-economic situation.

“It’s very important and valuable for me, as we finalize the budget, to have some firsthand conversations about exactly the changes on the ground and certainly defence spending is something we have to look at carefully,” she told reporters.

Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand visited a military base in Latvia on Tuesday alongside Stoltenberg and the prime ministers of Spain and Latvia, where they announced the immediate multi-year renewal of Operation Reassurance.

“This mission was set to expire next year and in light of the situation in Europe, we decided to renew it ahead of schedule…The troops are not only defending Latvia or Eastern Europe, they’re defending all NATO allies including Canada. They’re defending our freedom and our security,” Trudeau said.

Approximately 540 Canadian Armed Forces members are deployed to Latvia under the NATO mission, and 130 more will join in the coming weeks.

Stoltenberg was asked Wednesday about the long-term vision for NATO forces in Eastern Europe.

“I think we need to actually now also have a serious assessment of longer-term adaptation of NATO, our posture, our presence, and also how we can strengthen ability to reinforce quickly,” he said.

Stoltenberg expects the topic to be addressed when NATO defence ministers converge next week.

With a file from The Canadian Press.