US Senators Say Canada’s Current Military Spending Timeline Too Long

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) speaks during a news conference with fellow Republican senators at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 9, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Two U.S. senators said Canada needs to swiftly increase military spending in response to threats from China and Russia, noting the country’s current timeline for reaching 2 percent of GDP is an “eternity” for lawmakers in Washington.

Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire told Global News the Canadian government’s current plan to hit 2 percent by 2032 is too slow, and that incoming President Donald Trump would make that clear.

“If Donald Trump was sitting right here, you'd get a big guffaw out of him on 2032, because that’s a long ways for what we’re dealing with in the world right now,” said Risch.

Risch said all 32 NATO countries have an obligation to meet the defence spending requirements, and many countries with economies smaller than Canada’s have been able to meet their spending obligations. He said the military alliance is “incredibly important” to Canada at a time when “arch enemy” Russia has been threatening NATO countries with nuclear weapons.

Risch said he did not want to discuss the consequences the U.S. might impose on Canada if it does not increase military spending, but said it “needs to be done now.” He said any threats from Russia and China would come from the Arctic, and thus the Canadian government’s defence policy in Canada “has got to shift on this, or it’s going to be a serious problem.”

Shaheen said the two had spoken with Defence Minister Bill Blair about Canada’s commitment to NATO on Nov. 23, and had also discussed Russian and Chinese “designs” on the Arctic. “This is in our interest in the United States, it’s in Canada’s interest, it’s in the interest of all of those NATO members to see that we remain strong because of the threats that we face,” she said.

While NATO has long dictated that members must spend a minimum of 2 percent of their GDP on defence, it estimates Canada will have spent just 1.37 percent in 2024, and is one of eight countries not meeting the target. Blair has repeatedly said Canada remains committed to meeting its defence spending target by 2032, recently acknowledging that it needs to increase spending on ships, planes, and infrastructure.

When Trump was president from 2016 to 2020, he was highly critical of NATO countries not meeting the 2 percent of GDP spending target. He previously called such countries “delinquent,” and during a February 2024 rally he said he wouldn’t defend NATO member countries that didn’t meet the spending requirement from Russian attacks.

Border Security Concerns

During the Global News interview, Risch said while there was also work that needed to be done securing the Canada-U.S. border, it was “de minimis” compared to problems at the U.S.-Mexico border. “And by the way, that southern border is not only a problem for us, it’s a problem for [Canada] too, because... once they get into the United States, it’s relatively easy to cross,” he said.

Risch said while the northern border is a concern for his state of New Hampshire, the state has a positive relationship with Canada given that a third of its citizens are of Canadian descent. “We’re hoping that we can address some of those concerns,” Risch said regarding illegal immigration from Canada. “We’ve been working with Canadian officials, and we’ve seen some progress, but it’s something that we’ve got to work on because we want to maintain that positive relationship.”

Trump has focused heavily on border security and has promised to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history” when he takes office, going after what the Department of Homeland Security has estimated is 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country. Trump’s pick for “border czar,” former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan, has said border patrol agents at the Canada-U.S. border are “overwhelmed” with migrants, and that it poses a “huge national security issue.”

The Canada-U.S. border has seen a growing number of migrant encounters in recent years, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection noting the number has risen from 109,535 in 2022 to 198,929 in 2024. The RCMP has said it has prepared a contingency plan for increased volumes of people entering Canada, with scenarios ranging from a small uptick in illegal migration to a “complete crisis” similar to when Trump won in 2016.