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NATO says Canada met 2% spending pledge

  • Kyle Duggan

  • Canadian Press

  • March 26, 2026

File photo -- NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the official greeting at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA -- For the first time since 1990, Canada is spending roughly two per cent of its GDP on national defence.

Accounting estimates released by NATO say Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government met the key spending commitment to the alliance for 2025 by shelling out just over $63 billion.

Canada has come under pressure in recent years within the alliance — especially from the U.S. — to dramatically ramp up its military spending.

The previous Liberal government under former prime minister Justin Trudeau did not have Canada reaching the target until 2032 — six years from now.

Former defence minister Bill Blair had previously said he wouldn’t have been able to get all of that money out the door in a year — even if the finance department gave it to him.

But Carney campaigned on an earlier timeline — then suddenly announced last summer his government would meet it years ahead of schedule, and additionally committed to reaching an even steeper target of five per cent by 2035.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.