armed forces
NATO spending pledge—federal government faces lose-lose situation
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From the Fraser Institute
By Grady Munro and Jake Fuss
for Canada to meet the target and maintain it through 2026/27, it must increase defence spending by $57.1 billion
During his recent visit to Poland, when asked about Canada’s responsibility to NATO, Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged that “there is still more to do.” Indeed, at the Vilnius Summit last summer, the 31 member countries of NATO, which includes Canada, once again pledged to spend a minimum of 2 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. Unfortunately, with no plan to reach this benchmark, the Trudeau government is in a lose-lose situation—accumulate billions more in debt or further disappoint its allies.
According to NATO, the 2 per cent minimum pledge will ensure the alliance’s military readiness and improve the credibility of the organization.
Yet Canada (a founding member of NATO) has failed to reach this target every year since first making this pledge in 2006. In 2022, the latest year of available spending data, Canada’s defence spending measured 1.29 per cent of GDP—fifth-lowest in NATO and well short of the 2 per cent target. And much of Canada’s recent progress towards the spending target is due to a 2017 change in NATO’s definition of “defence spending.” Consequently, Canada has been branded a “military free-rider.”
Although most NATO countries haven’t reached the spending benchmark either, this is changing as the war in Ukraine continues. Seven members spent more than 2 per cent of GDP in 2022, and it’s estimated that 11 members will meet the target in 2023. With more members fulfilling their pledge, Canada likely will fall further behind it allies without higher defence spending. Yet according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, for Canada to meet the target and maintain it through 2026/27, it must increase defence spending by $57.1 billion.
Unfortunately, due to the Trudeau government’s record-high spending, Ottawa is in a weak fiscal position. From 2014/15 to 2023/24, the federal government increased per-person program spending from $9,064 to $11,395 (adjusted for inflation), primarily by borrowing. As a result, the government has racked up substantial debt and projects more borrowing in the coming years, with no balanced budget in sight.
Without a plan to restrain spending in other areas to accommodate a $57.1 billion increase in defence spending, the government would have to rely on debt to meet the 2 per cent target. This would significantly increase future deficits. In 2023/24 alone, the deficit would increase from $40.0 billion to $55.5 billion. The next several years would also see deficits increase by no less than $13.0 billion. In total, from 2023/24 to 2026/27, cumulative budget deficits would increase from $143.8 billion to $200.9 billion. Such an increase would substantially weaken an already shaky fiscal position.
Despite this, it’s unlikely the Trudeau government would rework its spending to avoid such debt accumulation. Since 2014/15, the majority of spending increases have gone towards expanding or implementing new programs such as the Canada Child Benefit or $10-a-day daycare, rather than core government functions such as defence or justice.
In fact, the government increasingly treats defence as an area to find additional savings. It recently cut the defence budget by $210 million, and it’s rumoured additional cuts of $1 billion are on the way. Clearly, spending on new programs takes precedent for this government, leaving Canada in arrears on its NATO commitment.
If the Trudeau government intends to uphold its recent defence spending pledge, but is unwilling to change its priorities, then Canadians will likely see Ottawa’s mountain of government debt grow even higher. But should the government again fall short of the NATO target, Canada’s reputation among its allies will continue to deteriorate.
Authors:
armed forces
Canada is not a sovereign nation
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Conspiracy Facts With Jeffrey Rath
There is no social service more important to the survival of a nation or a people than a robust national defence.
To quote the brilliant Lt. Col. (Ret.) David Redman, who has written extensively on the deplorable state of Canada’s ability to defend itself, quoting an anonymous Greek military philosopher,
“EVERY COUNTRY HAS AN ARMY, EITHER THEIR OWN OR SOME ONE ELSE’S”.
A more modern take on this thought was written by Niccolo Machiavelli in “THE PRINCE” when he observed that:
“THE FLORENTINES WERE EASILY CONQUERED BECAUSE THEY HAD BECOME WEAK AND EFFEMINATE FROM LONG PEACE.”
Machiavelli would be snickering if he knew that Canada has appointed a “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion General” to head the Canadian Armed Forces. Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff seems more concerned to ensure that tampons are available in the men’s infantry barracks than she was in insuring that Canada could defend itself or ever meet Canada’s NATO Article 5 obligations. Canada requires AT LEAST 3 divisions of air mobile combat soldiers, with suitable cyber security, surveillance and attack drones, armour, artillery, ground attack air cover, helicopter gunships, and air superiority interception capacity. A naval force capable of asserting arctic sovereignty while developing an amphibious assault capacity in support of our international obligations is also required. The 300-500 Billion Dollars that successive Canadian Governments have robbed from our NATO spending obligation would be a large down payment on rebuilding the Canadian Military while simultaneously wiping out the trade deficit with the US. An immediate 100 Billion Dollar military equipment order from US firms coupled with an elimination of all agricultural tariffs including the elimination of the Canadian Dairy Marketing Board would go a long way towards addressing President Trump’s justifiable derision of Canada’s status as a sovereign nation and good neighbour
Canadians need to internalize that they no longer live in a sovereign country. They live in a military protectorate of the United States Of America. Canadians currently underfund their NATO Treaty obligations by more than 23 Billion Dollars a year. This is a national disgrace.
Every so-called Canadian booing the American National Anthem, needs to be embarrassed, not outraged, over the fact that we have allowed successive Canadian Federal Governments to effectively embezzle hundreds of billions of dollars from the US through Canada’s despicable refusal to meet its national defence obligation to our largest and most economically important ally. In this sense Canada is much more like a vassal kingdom of Ancient Rome governed by a Governor appointed by Rome than a modern nation state. Despite Canada’s almost complete economic and military reliance on the United States, Canada is governed by minions of The World Economic Forum, The United Nations and the World Health Organization which are all China controlled or China adjacent entities that support Chinese global hegemony in the name of “globalism” or “post-nationalism”. Canada has even seen a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada taking a Communist Party of China job as adjudicator in Hong Kong. Canada currently has a disgraced Prime Minister so stupid as to not understand why our NATO allies would be upset at Canada training the People’s Liberation Army on how to kill NATO soldiers more effectively in winter conditions at Canada’s special forces winter warfare training facility at Petawawa, Ontario.
Canadians are shocked and appalled when Americans have the temerity to elect a leader who rejects the prevailing pro-China governance of Canada. Trudeau’s contribution to US-Canada relations was to attribute President Trump’ s crushing victory over globalism and world socialism to a claim that he/she was a “feminist” and to equate the common-sense of Americans to racism and misogyny. The world is meant to believe that Canadians are horrified by a US President who insists as the military protector of Canada that Canada address its protectionism of Canadian markets, ongoing trade deficit and embezzlement of defence dollars from the US by refusing to meet Canada’s international defence obligations.
Mark “Carnival Huckster” Carney the new Liberal, wanna-be, Canadian Governor, has announced as part of his “leadership campaign” that unlike the outgoing Dictator Trudeau, he will only continue to embezzle billions of dollars a year for five more years to reach the 2% GDP NATO defence spending requirement, as opposed to the outgoing Governor Trudeau who thought he could continue to steal from the US for another 7 years. It’s like Mark “The Carney” thinks that President Trump will be gratified with his announcement that Canada will only continue stealing and freeloading off of America for 5 more years. Maybe as compensation President Trump should consider renaming “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” given that Canada’s continued refusal to meaningfully contribute to its mutual defence with America, has at the very least given Trump “naming rights” over shared geographical features. How about instead of the St. Lawrence Seaway we now have “The Melania Seaway”. Canada’s lack of the basic sovereign function of self-defence should have consequences.
It’s time for Canadians to wake the hell up and realize that the so-called Laurentian elite Canadian political class undermine Canadian Sovereignty every day. They do this by refusing to acknowledge that President Trump is right to make fun of Canada for the emasculation of the Canadian military. President Trump is right to call out Canada’s ridiculous insistence on wanting free access to American Markets while continuing to protect Canadian millionaires and billionaires from US competition to the detriment of Canadian voters who would all benefit from the lower prices that tariff free trade would bring. Every Canadian should be angry that they pay way more than they should for milk, cheese and other products because of Canadian protectionism.
Come on Canada! Canadians are known internationally for the Canadian propensity to say sorry too often.
It’s time for Canada’s political leaders to say:
“President Trump, you are right. We are sorry. We will immediately change our childish, and dishonest behaviour. We will become a much better neighbour.”
Jeffrey R.W. Rath, B.A. (Hons.), LL.B. (Hons.)
Foothills, Alberta
February 18, 2025
P.S.
Failing the above, its time for Alberta to say “President Trump, we don’t want to be part of Canada as a 51st State. Alberta will happily consider the benefits of full statehood within the American Union on the condition that you don’t let Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, or the Maritime province enjoy the same status given the extent to which they have enjoyed a parasitic relationship with Alberta for far too long.
Alberta will immediately commit to spending all dollars formerly sent to Quebec to the formation of an Alberta National Guard to be fully integrated with US Forces and chain of command, governed by the US Constitution. ”
This may be an idea whose time has come.
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armed forces
SecDef Hegseth picks investigators to examine botched Afghanistan withdrawal
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MxM News
Quick Hit:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated an investigation into the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Hegseth confirmed that investigators have already been selected to examine the disastrous exit, which left 13 U.S. service members dead and stranded Americans behind. He emphasized that accountability is forthcoming and vowed a thorough review to uncover the decision-making failures behind the debacle.
Key Details:
- Hegseth told Breitbart News that he has already chosen investigators for a full Pentagon-led review of the withdrawal.
- The Biden administration’s 2021 exit resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, abandoned American citizens, and a botched drone strike that killed an Afghan aid worker and his family.
- No officials were held accountable, while Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who publicly called for accountability, was the only one punished—he now serves in the Trump administration.
Diving Deeper:
Hegseth, in an exclusive interview, stated that the investigation would be comprehensive, focusing on key decision-making failures that led to one of the most disastrous military withdrawals in U.S. history. While no specific timeline was provided, he stressed the importance of getting the facts right.
The 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, executed under then-President Joe Biden, resulted in a chaotic evacuation at Kabul International Airport. The suicide bombing at Abbey Gate claimed the lives of 13 American troops, while the administration abandoned hundreds of U.S. citizens despite claiming success. Additionally, the U.S. military, in a hasty attempt to prevent another attack, launched a drone strike that mistakenly killed an innocent Afghan aid worker and his family. At the time, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley defended the strike as “righteous.”
Despite these failures, no senior officials were removed from their posts. The only individual who faced consequences was Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who was discharged after demanding accountability in a viral video. Now, he serves as a senior adviser to the Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness under the 47th President, Donald Trump.
Hegseth reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring accountability, emphasizing the need to establish a factual timeline of events, decisions, and their consequences. “I don’t think there’s anybody that feels like there’s been an honest accounting of what happened in Afghanistan. That’s our job,” he said.
The investigation, he added, will be critical to rebuilding trust within the Defense Department. “We’re going to drive that full investigation and get a sense of what happened. Accountability will be coming,” Hegseth concluded.
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