NATO wants ‘credible’ spending plans from members at next month’s summit

Canada and other NATO nations will be expected to deliver specific, “credible” plans to meet the alliance’s new benchmark for defence spending when leaders meet next month in Turkey, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says.

The demand is significant for the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney, which faced recent public criticism from senior Pentagon officials who accused Canada of not sharing those details with Washington.

Rutte spoke with journalists in Brussels on Wednesday ahead of the latest meeting of NATO defence ministers, the last gathering before leaders sit down in Ankara.

“I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal, ideally well ahead of the agreed timeline,” Rutte said. “Many are already showing that they are doing exactly that. The numbers are clear. We saw a massive increase in defence investment in 2025, with European allies and Canada increasing their core defence investment by over $90 billion US.”

U.S. Department of War officials last month suspended participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD), a Canada-U.S. bilateral forum that dates back to the Second World War. 

In stepping back, Pentagon officials cited Canada’s unwillingness to provide a clear roadmap for the NATO-mandated increase of defence-related spending to five per cent of gross domestic product by 2035. They also expressed frustration that Canada had been given a classified paper laying out priorities for the collective defence of North America did not, in the words of one U.S. official speaking on background, provide a “credible” response.

Carney has said that meeting the NATO five per cent GDP target (3.5 per cent spent directly on the military and 1.5 per cent on defence infrastructure) could potentially cost the federal treasury up to $150 billion annually when fully implemented. At the moment, Canada spends roughly $63 billion per year on defence. 

The Department of National Defence, in the last federal budget, did not outline five-year spending projections and has not answered requests from several journalists for those figures. 

Last month, the Pentagon’s director of policy planning, Elbridge Colby, said on social media that the United States “can no longer avoid the gaps between rhetoric and reality” in Canada’s position.

National security researcher Christy Somos also uncovered the United States Army National Guard has shelved participation in an annual Canada-U.S. summit of military officers. Canada’s Defence Department confirmed the Army Reserve General Officers Advisory Board had stopped meeting.

On Wednesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lamented the “fracturing” relationship between Canada and the United States and said it needs to be restored to ensure security in both countries. Mullin made the remarks during a fireside chat with Canada’s public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree, in Washington.

Senior Canadian officials in Ottawa, speaking on background recently about the increasing U.S. pressure, said the plan to get to five per cent is being prepared and will be presented by Canada in front of all NATO allies in July.

They dismissed the Pentagon criticism, saying it didn’t come from the White House.

Defence Minister David McGuinty is due to take part in discussions with his NATO colleagues this week in Brussels.

Rutte downplayed the U.S. plan to drastically scale back conventional military and rapid-response forces it allocates to NATO in the event of a crisis.

While the U.S. will maintain its nuclear deterrence umbrella over Europe, it is narrowing its contribution to what’s called the NATO Force Model — a detailed plan of what each country contributes in the event of war.

The reductions include major cuts in fighter jets, strategic bombers, air-to-air refuelling aircraft and drones. It is also drawing down submarines, including the kind of boats that launch cruise missiles, and cutting the number of destroyers available to NATO by half. 

The Trump administration also announced plans to cut 5,000 soldiers stationed in Germany and halted a planned rotation of more than 4,000 American troops bound for Poland.

Rutte said European allies have already stepped up to fill a number of those gaps.

“In some cases, this has been cast as a problem, as the U.S. pulling away from its allies. But that is not the reality,” Rutte said.

“The U.S. has made clear that it is committed to NATO. That commitment comes with an expectation that allies will more fairly share the responsibility for our security here in Europe.…

“They have made clear that the U.S. nuclear deterrent is solid, and that it is crucial that Europe and Canada do more on the conventional front, understanding that the U.S. has obligations around the globe that it needs to account for.”