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A new NATO military spending target to be set this week for alliance member countries will require Canada to spend $150-billion annually on defence-related items, Prime Minister Mark Carney said today.
Carney is in The Hague ahead of a leaders’ summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that begins Wednesday.
Steven Chase reports that Carney told CNN in an interview that nearly a third of the new target is easily attainable because under an alliance formula, Canada will get credit for already planned infrastructure spending.
This leaves about $45-billion to $50-billion in additional core military spending each year.
But Carney said he believes it likely that leaders at the NATO summit, a two-day meeting that includes U.S. President Donald Trump, will agree to give each other 10 years to reach this goal.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Ottawa remains concerned about possible Iranian government activities in Canada after former justice minister Irwin Cotler warned Tehran may have activated sleeper cells in this country.
Steven Chase and Robert Fife report that Anand, who is in The Hague with other Canadian officials including Carney, today addressed Cotler’s comments to The Globe and Mail.
“In addition to Mr. Cotler’s remarks, we are very concerned about foreign interference, including the types that were highlighted by him, and we’re very concerned about the Iranian regime, generally speaking, that’s why we declared it a terrorist entity,” Anand said.
In 2022, the Canadian government designated the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engages in terrorism.
Anand said the threat posed by Iran is why Canada has not had official diplomatic relations with Tehran since 2012.
Open this photo in gallery:
NATO leaders pose for a picture ahead of a dinner on the sidelines of a NATO summit at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague on Tuesday. Carney says he believes NATO countries will give each other 10 years to hit a new spending target.Christian Hartmann/Reuters
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What else is going on
Nenshi wins seat: After a year without a legislature seat since winning the leadership of the Alberta NDP, former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi has won a seat via a by-election.
Weather plays havoc with Fête nationale events in Quebec: A concert on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City to mark the province’s national holiday was cancelled and the area evacuated because of thunder, lightning and heavy downpours.
Bill C-5 reveals fault lines between Ottawa and Indigenous peoples over consultation, consent: The Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Manitoba Métis Federation had urged Parliament to take more time on Bill C-5, though the federation supports it.
Ottawa pressed to split online harms bill to fast-track its passage: Bill C-63, which included initiatives to combat online child abuse and hate, died when the last Parliament was prorogued in January, but government ministers have indicated they plan to bring it back.
B.C. Conservatives start voting on John Rustad’s leadership: The marathon process could last six months while questions swirl over Rustad’s handling of a group of former Conservative MLAs whom he recently accused of trying to blackmail their former colleagues.
On our radar
Prime Minister’s Day: Mark Carney is in The Hague for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit that begins Wednesday. Today Carney met with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. He also had an audience with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. He also attended a reception and dinner held by the royal couple.
Party Leaders: No schedules released for other party leaders.
Quote of the Day: “I would say it’s not so much the west wants in as the west wants Ottawa out of its hair.” – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, at a news conference in Calgary today, announcing an Alberta Next panel initiative to canvass residents of the province on its relationship with the federal government.
Madan signs on with Manitoba: Veteran broadcast journalist Richard Madan, who has covered U.S. politics from Washington for both CTV and CBC, is Manitoba’s new senior representative to the United States. Today is his first day on his new job. He is in Winnipeg meeting with stakeholders ahead of returning to the U.S. capital to begin advocating for the Prairie province. “When they offered me the position, I couldn’t say no,” he said in an interview. He noted that Manitoba hasn’t had a U.S. envoy in about a decade. “I’m literally building this position from scratch,” he said.
McKenna Bio: Former federal environment minister Catherine McKenna’s memoir, Run Like A Girl, will be published in North America on Sept. 23, with a British and Australian release to follow on Nov. 4. McKenna was a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2021, and served as environment minister and infrastructure minister for Justin Trudeau. “This book is my way of being honest about politics, parenting, and pushing for something better. I hope it inspires young women to run like a girl, too,” McKenna said in a statement. The book is being published by Sutherland House Books.
The House of Commons: The Commons is on a break, and not scheduled to sit again until Sept, 15.
Question period
Prime Minister Mark Carney is in The Hague for a NATO summit. The organization began with 12 members in 1949. How many members does it now have?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Spending is the talk of the NATO summit, but there’s a bigger problem
At their summit, NATO leaders will commit to spend more. European countries are rearming. Canada is thinking about defence again. In another time, that would be seen as a revitalization of the alliance. Now, it’s about figuring out what to do if it falls apart.
— Campbell Clark, Chief Political Writer.
Naheed Nenshi now has a seat in the legislature. Time for Alberta’s NDP Leader to come out of hiding.
Mr. Nenshi’s challenge is multifaceted. His time as a politician has mostly been spent as a mayor, where he controlled the media agenda to a large degree. Now he doesn’t – Ms. Smith and her government do. Which means Mr. Nenshi is going to have to work doubly hard to get noticed – to try and drive his agenda, whatever that is.
— Gary Mason, National Affairs Columnist
The world reels as we try to process the ever-expanding turmoil in the Middle East
Should a barometer measuring global anxiety exist, it would currently be in the red, registering off the charts. Because nobody hears the terms “nuclear,” “bombing,” “Iran” and “death to America” with such regularity while remaining totally chill. This is, understandably, a time of freaking out.
— Marsha Lederman, Columnist
Go deeper
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The answer to today’s question: Thirty-two. Sweden was the most recent country to join in 2024.
