CEOs demand changes to Liberals' military spending plan

The federal government risks jeopardizing the economy unless it meets its NATO military alliance spending obligations within the next five years, says the Business Council of Canada.

The federal government risks jeopardizing the economy unless it meets its NATO military alliance spending obligations within the next five years, says the Business Council of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed to reaching the  two per cent target by 2032. But the business council, which represents the CEOs of Canada’s largest companies, wants to reach it by 2030.

In its new report, the council links prosperity to national security, and says Canada should focus on arctic security. It also attempts to make the case for massive investment to turn military production and research into the backbone of the Canadian economy.

The report calls on the federal government to increase military spending to $75 billion annually by 2029, a figure that is more than $17 billion dollars over what the Department of National Defence has outlined.

The council also wants the government to surpass the target to hit 2.5 per cent GDP spending by 2035 and aim for three per cent of GDP spending beyond that .

The report emphasizes the need for the federal government to boost investment in the private “defence industrial base” while cutting “bloat” in the public sector.

“If we don’t put our national security at the top, not near - but the top of the list, we are playing Russian Roulette with our economy. Economic security comes from national security. Our government has to make those choices” said the Business Council's president Goldy Hyder.