Canada’s defence spending timeline ‘an eternity’ for U.S., senator warns

Canada has said it will hit the NATO defence spending benchmark in 2032, but U.S. senators James Risch and Jeanne Shaheen say the U.S. can't wait that long.

A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators say they expect Canada and the U.S. to work collaboratively on shared issues of defence and the border, but suggested Ottawa’s policies on military spending need to change to speed up progress.

Speaking to Mercedes Stephenson from the Halifax International Security Forum in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block, Republican Sen. James Risch of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire downplayed concerns that incoming president-elect Donald Trump will penalize Canada on things like trade if it doesn’t step up on defence spending.

But Risch suggested Washington was growing impatient on Canada’s progress meeting NATO’s benchmark of spending at least two per cent on defence, which Ottawa says it plans to meet eight years from now.

“If Donald Trump was sitting right here, you’d get a big guffaw out of him on 2032, because that’s a long ways from what we’re dealing with in the world right now,” he said.

“That’s an eternity down the road for us. This needs to be done now.”

Risch said the U.S. concern is ensuring Arctic security is maintained so that threats don’t attack through Canada — making shared defence commitments like NORAD vital.

“People in Canada certainly have to understand the threat that comes to us from the north,” he said. “If they come after us … they’re going to come after you (Canada) from the north, and we’re next after that.”

Both senators sit on the powerful U.S. Senate foreign relations committee, where Risch currently serves as the ranking member for the Republican minority. The GOP is set to take control of the Senate in January after the U.S. elections.