Canada must quickly ramp up its defense spending to reach the NATO target while also weaning itself off US-made equipment, argued contenders to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.
France plans to a host a second meeting to discuss Ukraine and European security on Wednesday, but has this time invited European countries not present earlier this week and NATO ally Canada, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Defense and security experts urge calm, say Trump's overtures to Putin may not mean the worst for the future of NATO or Canada's close, 85-year-old military alliance with the United States.
Washington had already picked quarrels with neighbors and allies such as Canada, Mexico, Panama and Greenland, on the grounds that the US was asserting its
Experts say getting Canada's defence spending to two per cent of GDP is not as simple as moving money around and will require multiple measures and years of planning.
Dayton police say they are preparing for protests and other contingencies at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that is coming in May though it's unclear what kind of security challenges could arise. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly last met in Montreal in November,
The demand further ramps up pressure on allies like Canada, which has long missed the spending target and doesn't plan to meet it for another seven years.
If this were any other time, and any other country, the sort of talk we've been hearing from Trump would have drawn howls of allied and international outrage. Yet, there has been no direct public condemnation by allied leaders — it seems we find ourselves alone.
General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO deputy supreme commander, told BBC that U.S. President Trump's plans for Ukraine are "in cloud cuckoo land." GENERAL SIR RICHARD SHIRREFF: I think it's Cloud Cuckoo Land.
The four candidates sparred over how fast Canada can realistically roll out the billions of dollars needed to reach the NATO threshold of 2% GDP.
Canada will send $5 billion in aid to Ukraine using funds from seized Russian assets, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday at a peace and security summit in Kyiv.