Chamber of Commerce CEO Perrin Beatty is raising concerns Canada is seen as an “unserious player on the international stage” for its pitiful defence spending. The federal government has delayed conducting a defence review promised after funnelling millions to Ukraine in 2022. Canada currently spends 1.3% of GDP on defence, despite a commitment to NATO to spend 2%, or an additional $14 billion per year, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Contrarily, cuts worth $1 billion in defence spending were announced in late 2023. Blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for being lackadaisical about foreign policy, Beatty warned allies will perceive Canada as weak and will put the nation at an international disadvantage, per National Post.“Canada is increasingly being viewed by our partners in the region as a well-meaning but unserious player on the international stage,” he wrote in an open letter addressed to Trudeau published over the weekend. “Canada needs to meet its key commitments to avoid being viewed as an unreliable partner,” Beatty warned. “Particularly in the current security climate, Canada must prioritize meeting the NATO target of allocating at least 2% of GDP to defence spending.”Beatty said he realized Canada’s counterparts don’t consider the country as a serious player after he attended events in the Indo-Pacific region geared at offsetting China’s influence in the region, and now sees that “sober assessment” of Canada’s international position is needed. “It is clear that we can no longer take for granted the stable and peaceful international conditions that Canada helped to shape following the Second World War,” he wrote. “This moment calls for a sober assessment of our international priorities and a recalibration of how we engage with other nations.”“Unfortunately, with the exception of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canadian foreign policy in recent years has frequently appeared, instead, to be reactive and unfocused,” he said. “We have too often concentrated our efforts on policies designed to produce good feelings instead of on those that will produce good results.”Beatty recommended it’s time for Canada to get smarter about trade, for example adding new liquefied natural gas terminals. He said the upcoming renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal that replaced NAFTA in 2018 would be a good opportunity.While on the topic of Canada’s southern neighbour, Beatty said now is not the time to take for granted American ties. “Canada should be preparing the ground now through a coordinated outreach campaign by all levels of government and the private sector to demonstrate to America’s citizens why a healthy relationship with Canada is important to them,” he said.“Any company that did two-thirds of its business with one customer would spare no effort to maintain and strengthen that relationship,” Beatty wrote, comparing trade with the US to business relationships. In a year-end interview with Global News, Trudeau was asked what he thought of Canada’s allies being concerned over lack of defence spending, and the fact that there are just three days worth of ammunition available in the country if a war were to break out. Trudeau said his government has “stepped up” since 2017 with “70% increases on our defence spending.” He said Canada is not the only ones “in trouble” over defence issues, but “everyone is in big trouble, all of us as allies, as NATO allies, have been shipping massive amounts of ammunition to Ukraine right now, because Ukraine is on the front lines now.”
Chamber of Commerce CEO Perrin Beatty is raising concerns Canada is seen as an “unserious player on the international stage” for its pitiful defence spending. The federal government has delayed conducting a defence review promised after funnelling millions to Ukraine in 2022. Canada currently spends 1.3% of GDP on defence, despite a commitment to NATO to spend 2%, or an additional $14 billion per year, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Contrarily, cuts worth $1 billion in defence spending were announced in late 2023. Blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for being lackadaisical about foreign policy, Beatty warned allies will perceive Canada as weak and will put the nation at an international disadvantage, per National Post.“Canada is increasingly being viewed by our partners in the region as a well-meaning but unserious player on the international stage,” he wrote in an open letter addressed to Trudeau published over the weekend. “Canada needs to meet its key commitments to avoid being viewed as an unreliable partner,” Beatty warned. “Particularly in the current security climate, Canada must prioritize meeting the NATO target of allocating at least 2% of GDP to defence spending.”Beatty said he realized Canada’s counterparts don’t consider the country as a serious player after he attended events in the Indo-Pacific region geared at offsetting China’s influence in the region, and now sees that “sober assessment” of Canada’s international position is needed. “It is clear that we can no longer take for granted the stable and peaceful international conditions that Canada helped to shape following the Second World War,” he wrote. “This moment calls for a sober assessment of our international priorities and a recalibration of how we engage with other nations.”“Unfortunately, with the exception of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canadian foreign policy in recent years has frequently appeared, instead, to be reactive and unfocused,” he said. “We have too often concentrated our efforts on policies designed to produce good feelings instead of on those that will produce good results.”Beatty recommended it’s time for Canada to get smarter about trade, for example adding new liquefied natural gas terminals. He said the upcoming renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal that replaced NAFTA in 2018 would be a good opportunity.While on the topic of Canada’s southern neighbour, Beatty said now is not the time to take for granted American ties. “Canada should be preparing the ground now through a coordinated outreach campaign by all levels of government and the private sector to demonstrate to America’s citizens why a healthy relationship with Canada is important to them,” he said.“Any company that did two-thirds of its business with one customer would spare no effort to maintain and strengthen that relationship,” Beatty wrote, comparing trade with the US to business relationships. In a year-end interview with Global News, Trudeau was asked what he thought of Canada’s allies being concerned over lack of defence spending, and the fact that there are just three days worth of ammunition available in the country if a war were to break out. Trudeau said his government has “stepped up” since 2017 with “70% increases on our defence spending.” He said Canada is not the only ones “in trouble” over defence issues, but “everyone is in big trouble, all of us as allies, as NATO allies, have been shipping massive amounts of ammunition to Ukraine right now, because Ukraine is on the front lines now.”
