{"id":14245,"date":"2025-01-26T16:45:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T16:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/01\/26\/canada-must-take-responsibility-for-its-sovereignty-defence-chief-says-national\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T16:45:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T16:45:34","slug":"canada-must-take-responsibility-for-its-sovereignty-defence-chief-says-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontotribune.ca\/index.php\/2025\/01\/26\/canada-must-take-responsibility-for-its-sovereignty-defence-chief-says-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada must take \u2018responsibility\u2019 for its sovereignty, defence chief says – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Canada\u2019s chief of the defence staff says the next prime minister needs to \u201cpay attention to our defence\u201d and take responsibility for Canada\u2019s territorial integrity, pointing to other countries whose \u201csovereignties have been breached these past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> complaints about Canada\u2019s military spending and capabilities have underscored the need for Ottawa to prioritize defence, though Gen. Jennie Carignan says work was already underway to speed up investments and procurement before Trump took office last week.<\/p>\n

As the Liberal Party chooses a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau \u2014 and with a general election widely expected this spring \u2014 Carignan says whoever leads the country next needs to ensure that work continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to pay attention to defence \u2026 because we all know that many sovereignties have been breached these past few years,\u201d she told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on\u00a0The West Bock.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cIn order to remain sovereign within our own territory, we have to be mindful of our defence and take our own responsibility to defend our territory. So that would be the message [to the next prime minister].\u201d<\/p>\n

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Canada\u2019s allies have long pressed the federal government to invest more in defence.<\/p>\n

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Although spending has increased under the Liberal government, it still spends just under 1.4 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, well short of NATO\u2019s target of at least two per cent.<\/p>\n

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Trump has recently upped that pressure, telling reporters and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week that he wants the NATO target increased to five per cent<\/a> \u2014 a level no member, including the U.S., currently meets.<\/p>\n

Ottawa released a plan last year for defence spending to reach 1.76 per cent by 2030 and says it will hit two per cent by 2032. The parliamentary budget officer has raised doubts about that timeline and U.S. lawmakers have said it\u2019s too slow.<\/p>\n

Since his election win in November 2024, Trump has also claimed that Canada \u201cdoesn\u2019t have a military\u201d and that the U.S. is protecting its northern neighbour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take care of their military,\u201d Trump said after touring areas in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene on Friday.<\/p>\n

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Carignan said the Canadian Armed Forces has been working since last summer with the government on accelerating defence investments, which also include $40 billion in modernizing NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canada defence alliance.<\/p>\n

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She wouldn\u2019t say if the government has changed its approach in the wake of Trump\u2019s recent rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were already on the course of accelerating spending,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really was the work that was undertaken before Mr. Trump came into power.\u201d<\/p>\n