Premiers Push Ottawa on NATO Spending, a Federal Area of Jurisdiction: Here’s Why

Given that military spending is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, it was notable that several premiers brought the issue up during the annual Council of the Federation meeting. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew led the charge during a media scrum on July 17, where he called for Canada to meet its NATO obligation to spend 2 percent of GDP on military within four years. While Mr. Kinew acknowledged military spending is a federal issue, he highlighted concerns that a failure to spend more could negatively impact the province’s trade relations with the United States. The premier’s comments came a week after the annual NATO summit, where the Liberal government announced it intends to meet the GDP target by 2032. As one of the few countries in the alliance that does not spend 2 percent of its GDP on defence, Canada has long been under pressure from its allies—particularly the U.S.—to increase spending....