Defence minister aiming to hit 2% NATO spending target in 2 years amid pressure from Trump [Video]

Facing U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing criticism about military spending, Defence Minister Bill Blair says it’s “absolutely achievable” within two years for Canada to meet NATO’s military investment benchmark of two per cent of gross domestic product.

That timeline is about six years earlier than what the prime minister announced and told NATO leaders in July.

“My goal is to do it as quickly as possible and I’m increasingly confident we’ll be able to,” Blair said in response to questions from CBC News.

According to a NATO report from last year, Canada spends roughly 1.37 per cent of GDP and has long faced criticism from allies about missing the benchmark.

WATCH | Blair says accelerated timeline is ‘absolutely achievable’: Defence Minister Bill Blair says it could take ‘as much as two years to get to that level of capability.’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last summer that he expected Canada to reach the alliance’s defence spending target by 2032.

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