Ottawa Pledges $73 Billion in New Defence Spending With Focus on Arctic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference in Vancouver on Feb. 20, 2024. The Canadian Press/Ethan Cairns

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged $73 billion in new spending for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) over 20 years as part of the upcoming federal budget, saying that Canada will shift its military focus to Arctic security.

Mr. Trudeau announced Canada’s new defence strategy, entitled, “Our North, Strong and Free” which puts far more emphasis on Arctic issues, including asserting Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic and working with the United States to defend the North American continent by upgrading NORAD. The strategy also identifies both China and Russia as potential threats.

“The Northwest Passage could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and Asia by 2050. That’s just 26 years away. Canadians are once again called upon to meet the moment,” Mr. Trudeau said at a press conference on April 8.

Mr. Trudeau was questioned by reporters on why Canada is still not meeting its NATO promise to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence, as the current announcement indicates Canada will spend 1.76 percent by 2030.

He said that in 2015, defence spending was at 1 percent of GDP and that his government has doubled investments in the armed forces from 2016 to 2026 and added that other projects, such as possible submarine upgrades, have yet to be factored into the current spending.

The budget investment for defence breaks the spending down into several major themes, the first of which, “Support our People,” promises an investment of $295 million for a new housing strategy for active Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, $497 million for an electronic health platform, and $100 million for improved child care access for CAF personnel living on military bases in Canada.

The second topic of the defence spending, “Strengthening our Foundation,” will see $10.2 billion invested in current and new military infrastructure over a 20-year period along with $1.8 billion to increase the number of civilian specialists in the CAF.

As a part of the third topic, “Building an Innovative Defence Industrial Base,” $9 billion will be spent on sustaining existing military equipment and $9.5 billion will go toward the supply and production of ammunition.

Many countries within NATO have struggled with ammunition production as many NATO members have donated much of their supplies to Ukraine. According to the released defence budget document, the production of new ammunition will “help replenish CAF ammunition previously donated to Ukraine.”

In terms of the defence of Canada at home, the government is looking to spend $1.4 billion on specialized maritime sensors for ocean surveillance, $18.4 billion on improving tactical helicopter capabilities, $2.8 billion for enhancing cyber operations and will invest in all-terrain vehicles in the Arctic.

Mr. Trudeau also spoke of expanding the Canadian submarine fleet but did not give any details on costs.

Alongside a $9.9 billion investment in sustaining the Canadian naval fleet, the new strategy aims to potentially upgrade or replace light armoured vehicles and main battle tanks.

Drones, which have played a significant role in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, are also mentioned in the announcement but no exact costs have been allocated for their purchase or development.

Recruitment has also been a major issue for the CAF in recent years, with a report published in February claiming that the military now loses more personnel than it recruits.

Prime Minister Trudeau blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a drop in recruitment but claimed “numbers are getting better.”

Defence Minister Bill Blair added that the government was looking to improve wait times so that people are able to join up faster, which will include digitization of the recruitment process.

The Conservatives criticized the latest budget announcement, saying it will not go far enough to address military readiness after “years of neglect” and that most of the new spending won’t come into play until after the next election.

“Under Trudeau, only 58% of our forces stand ready to deploy and we are short almost 16,000 troops this year with a further 10,000 troops who are undertrained and undeployable,” said Tory MP James Bezan, his party’s shadow minister for national defence, in a statement.

“Our warships are rusting out, our fighter jets are worn out, our army has been hollowed out and entire air squadrons are being shut down because they don’t have enough personnel. Our submarines are barely in the water and our warships are aging faster than expected and the Liberals’ plan to replace them is still years away.”