Freeland announces she’d meet NATO spending benchmark by 2027 [Video]

Chrystia Freeland is unveiling what is perhaps the most ambitious plan among Liberal leadership contenders for Canada to hit the NATO benchmark defence spending target of two per cent of gross domestic product.

The former deputy prime minister said she’d have the country meet the goal by 2027 — five years ahead of the federal government’s stated plan.

The announcement comes one day after Liberal leadership candidate and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney pledged he would hit the target by 2030.

Karina Gould, the former Liberal House leader running for the party leadership, also pledged to hit the goal but has not laid out a timeline.

According to the campaign source, Freeland would accomplish the goal by increasing the size of the military, giving the Armed Forces new capabilities, building made-in-Canada supply chains and reforming procurement to get equipment delivered faster.

Canada is planning to spend just over …