Canada must quickly ramp up its defense spending to reach the NATO target while also weaning itself off U.S.-made equipment, argued contenders to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.
But the four candidates — Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould and Frank Baylis — sparred over how fast Canada can realistically roll out the billions of dollars in new annual spending it would take to reach the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s threshold of 2% of gross domestic product.
"We really need to act with the fierce urgency of now,” said Freeland, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state. "I don’t think any of us wants to be the leader who was asleep at the wheel and didn’t get Canada defended.”
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.