Canadians Back Bigger Military, Shift Loyalty Toward Europe
Most Canadians back defence hikes and want less reliance on U.S. arms
With defence spending on the rise around the world, Canada is no exception. A couple of weeks ago, Mark Carney announced an increase to Canada’s military budget, aiming to meet NATO’s original target of spending 2% of GDP on defence.
NATO’s newest target for member nations now stands as high as 5% of GDP, though there are some caveats. Portions of that spending can go toward infrastructure with potential dual-use for military applications (think cybersecurity, or larger bridges capable of supporting tank transport).
A mid-June survey from Abacus Data found that 76% of Canadians support raising defence spending to 2% of GDP, with support above 70% across all major parties. Opposition is minimal, while only 11% of Canadians oppose the idea.
That level of support is higher than in a separate survey conducted by Angus Reid in early June, which found that 50% of Canadians would increase defence spending to 2% if they had unilateral control of the federal budget. An additional 17% said they would increase it even further, bringing the total to 67%, still 9 points short of the Abacus figure.
Regardless of the discrepancy, a clear majority of Canadians believe the country should spend more on defence in the face of growing global threats.
For many, those threats lie just across the border.
