Canada pledges billions to upgrade military

Reuters

Canada pledges to spend more on defense; US applauds move

Canada, under U.S. pressure to boost defense spending, on Monday pledged billions more for the armed forces and said military expenditures would be closer to the NATO target by 2030. In a defense policy update, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government said protecting the Arctic, as well as dealing with challenges from Russia and China, meant Ottawa needed to do more. Military spending is set to hit 1.76% of its gross domestic product by 2030, still short of the 2% target NATO sets for members, but up from the current 1.4%.