• Canada needs ‘substantial’ defence spending to reach NATO 5% targets: PBO

  Source: Global News Politics
  Date: 2026-10-06 14:57:34.0
  Tags: [National, Defence, Finance, Economy]

  A Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) report indicates that the Liberal government's plans to increase defence spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 will require core defense spending to climb from $95.7 billion in 2030 to $163.7 billion in 2035-36. The PBO estimates this massive funding increase will add $63.7 billion, or 1.4 percent of GDP, to the federal budgetary deficit by 2035-36 and leave federal debt 5.7 percentage points of GDP higher. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne stated that further details and measures to finance these investments will be introduced in the government's 2026 budget.

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• Canada needs more ‘urgency’ in rebuilding its military: ex-defence chief

  Source: Global News Politics
  Date: 2026-09-28 14:33:29.0
  Tags: [National, Defence, Finance, Economy]

  Retired General Wayne Eyre, former Chief of the Defence Staff, stated in an interview with Global News that Prime Minister Mark Carney's government must act with greater urgency to rebuild the Canadian Armed Forces and meet its NATO commitments. The federal government previously pledged in 2025 to meet NATO's target of spending two percent of GDP on defence that year and committed to grow defence spending to four percent of GDP by the end of the decade. A Global News analysis of the government's 2026 Spring Economic Statement indicates Canada will need to spend a total of $163 billion on an annual basis to hit the four percent commitment by 2030, representing an increase of $34.9 billion annually compared to the 2025 budget. Eyre warned that the government must actively communicate real threats to the public to maintain the necessary social licence to fund these military investments.

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• America 'not at war' with Canada, insists U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-08-31 18:00:16.0
  Tags: [National, Trade, Economy, Finance, Defence]

  United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed claims of a trade war with Canada during an interview with CNBC, criticizing Prime Minister Mark Carney for walking away from a trade deal and imposing 50 percent retaliatory tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of Canadian exports. The U.S. previously imposed these tariffs after trade negotiations collapsed due to disputes over auto industry terms, restrictions on foreign trade deals, and protections for French-language media and bilingual product labelling. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is scheduled to meet with Bessent and G20 counterparts in Asheville, North Carolina, while provincial leaders including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have voiced concerns that the ongoing tariff escalations will harm small businesses and regional economies.

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