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Feb 13, 2024 4:13 PM - The Connect News
There has been a stir with former US President Donald Trump's comment on NATO. Trump recently said during a rally in South Carolina that the US may not be able to protect NATO allies who are not spending the budget according to their defense commitments.
The Minister of Defense of Canada commented very carefully on this comment of Trump. Bill Blair said that he doesn't think that they need to overreact to this but need to make sure that they keep their coalition strong.
Trump's comments are important because he is expected to return to the White House and Canada is lagging behind other NATO members in military spending.
Canada expects to spend 1.43 percent of its GDP on defense by 2024-2025, which is less than the 2 percent commitment made to NATO.
Meanwhile, Canada's defense minister refused to directly answer whether Canada would try to increase defense spending for NATO in the event of Trump's second term.
