Canada’s NATO spending critiqued | CTV News [Video]

United States Speaker of the House Mike Johnson criticized Canada for its contribution level to NATO, and according to a defence analyst, it’s a common critique among several countries.

“It’s a pretty universal view with NATO,” Richard Shimooka, a defence policy analyst with the MacDonald Laurier Institute, told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis on Wednesday. “Spending is not where it needs to be.

“The level of capability we’re bringing is not commensurate to the threat the alliance is facing.”

The topic of Canada’s military spending has come up several times at the NATO leaders summit, which is being held in Washington, D.C., this week. Republic Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, along with Johnson, said Canada needs to seriously invest in “hard power.”

Canada is currently on track to spend 1.37 per cent of its GDP on NATO this year while 23 countries will spend two per cent or more. Shimooka notes Canada …