Defence Minister Bill Blair is set to release the long-awaited update to Canada's defence policy this morning in Trenton, Ont. Blair speaks during a media availability in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Thursday, March 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Ottawa plans to spend $8.1 billion over the next five years and $73 billion by 2044 on upgrading and modernizing the Canadian military – with a particular focus on defending Arctic sovereignty.
The federal government says the plan, which includes new submarines, long-range missiles and early-warning aircraft, will boost military spending to 1.76 per cent of GDP by 2030.
That is still shy of the 2 per cent Canada and its 31 NATO allies have agreed to spend, and the defence policy does not set out a plan to get to the target.
The government is planning to buy new vehicles adapted to frozen conditions in the North, along with building an Arctic satellite ground station and setting up northern operations hubs.
Defence officials say they’re reviewing defence procurement, a long-standing issue, with the aim of streamlining it.
The new defence policy update was first promised more than two years ago in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.
