Canada’s chief of the defence employees says the following prime minister must “pay attention to our defence” and take accountability for Canada’s territorial integrity, pointing to different nations whose “sovereignties have been breached these past few years.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaints about Canada’s navy spending and capabilities have underscored the necessity for Ottawa to prioritize defence, although Gen. Jennie Carignan says work was already underway to hurry up investments and procurement earlier than Trump took workplace final week.
Because the Liberal Occasion chooses a brand new chief to switch Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — and with a normal election broadly anticipated this spring — Carignan says whoever leads the nation subsequent wants to make sure that work continues.
“I think we need to pay attention to defence … because we all know that many sovereignties have been breached these past few years,” she informed Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Bock.
“In order to remain sovereign within our own territory, we have to be mindful of our defence and take our own responsibility to defend our territory. So that would be the message [to the next prime minister].”
Canada’s allies have lengthy pressed the federal authorities to take a position extra in defence.
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Though spending has elevated beneath the Liberal authorities, it nonetheless spends just below 1.4 per cent of its gross home product (GDP) on defence, properly in need of NATO’s goal of not less than two per cent.
Trump has just lately upped that strain, telling reporters and enterprise leaders on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland, final week that he desires the NATO goal elevated to 5 per cent — a degree no member, together with the U.S., presently meets.
Ottawa launched a plan final yr for defence spending to achieve 1.76 per cent by 2030 and says it is going to hit two per cent by 2032. The parliamentary finances officer has raised doubts about that timeline and U.S. lawmakers have mentioned it’s too gradual.
Since his election win in November 2024, Trump has additionally claimed that Canada “doesn’t have a military” and that the U.S. is defending its northern neighbour.
“We take care of their military,” Trump mentioned after touring areas in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene on Friday.
Carignan mentioned the Canadian Armed Forces has been working since final summer season with the federal government on accelerating defence investments, which additionally embody $40 billion in modernizing NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canada defence alliance.
She wouldn’t say if the federal government has modified its strategy within the wake of Trump’s latest rhetoric.
“We were already on the course of accelerating spending,” she mentioned.
“It really was the work that was undertaken before Mr. Trump came into power.”
Carignan mentioned she’s presently eying a 2029 deadline to fill the 16,500-member personnel scarcity within the Canadian Armed Forces and return it to full capability, however added “if I can do it faster, I’m going to try to do that.”
Boosting recruitment and retention has required a redesign of coaching procedures that has been underway for months, she added.
On the identical time, she’s additionally targeted on sustaining and modernizing bases and tools whereas pursuing methods to hurry up procurement.
“We are exploring various innovative ways to get those capabilities in an accelerated way, because we understand that we are getting more for our money if we can procure those equipment faster,” she mentioned.
That features working with defence companions just like the U.S., which could possibly be made tough beneath a Trump presidency.
Trump on Friday criticized the icebreaker pact signed final yr between Canada, the U.S. and Finland, which is designed to ramp up manufacturing of icebreakers to assist safeguard the Arctic and Antarctic areas. The pact was additionally made with a watch to China and Russia’s ambitions within the North — a menace Carignan has recognized as a high precedence.
“We’re going to order about 40 … icebreakers. All of a sudden Canada wants a piece of the deal,” Trump mentioned.
“I said, ‘Why are we doing that?’ I like doing that if they’re a state, but I don’t like doing that if they’re a nation.”
Carignan mentioned she’s not regarding herself with whether or not Trump might upend defence agreements with Canada, together with NORAD, however admitted Canada must assume in another way about its defence if the U.S. turns into an unreliable associate.
“It will be about crafting maybe new ways for the defence of Canada, but we are not there at all yet,” she mentioned.
“I have a tendency to look at things for what they are without wishing what they could be. So there is no point wasting too much time in complaining about what is; we need to deal with what we have to the best to our best possible way of doing it.”
