Cory Morgan: NATO Summit Gives Canada a Chance to Salvage Its Reputation as an International Player

Commentary Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face pressure about Canada’s defence spending as he attends the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington. Members of NATO are expected to maintain a defence budget of 2 percent of their nation’s GDP to be part of the alliance. Canada falls well short at 1.4 percent, and while Ottawa recently set a target to increase spending to 1.76 percent of GDP by the end of 2030, it still hasn’t fulfilled the obligation and there hasn’t been a plan laid out on how to get there. An open letter to the prime minister signed by nearly a quarter of US senators expressed dismay and was critical of Canada’s defence shortcomings. It was an unprecedented move by the senators and illustrates how deeply frustrated they are with Canada’s underspending. It sets a tone of tension for the upcoming summit....