Canada's Military Grapples with Conflicting Funding Priorities

Canada's Department of National Defence is struggling to reconcile the Liberal government's contradictory approach to military funding, which involves both budget cuts and increased spending. Gen. Wayne Eyre, the country's top military commander, admitted that the department faces challenges in understanding how domestic budget cuts and reallocation of funds align with pledges of additional money outlined in the recently published defense policy.

Why this matters: The conflicting priorities in military funding have significant implications for Canada's national security and its ability to contribute to global efforts. If left unresolved, this could lead to a decline in Canada's military capabilities, compromising its position within NATO and its ability to respond to emerging threats.

"We are asked to suck and blow at the same time," Gen. Eyre stated, referring to the conflicting directives on military funding. The Department of National Defence faced budget cuts last year but is now set to receive new funding, a situation that Eyre described as challenging to reconcile. "We will have more funding in the future... This year, when it comes to operations and maintenance, we face some challenges," he said.

The federal government is considering eliminating somemilitary capabilitiesas part of its defense strategy. "We will probably see some... based on the advice that comes out of the services,"Eyre stated. The new defense policy promises to invest an additional $8.1 billion in the military in the short term and over $73 billion in the next two decades. However, much of this funding is reserved for future years, while the military grapples with immediate readiness challenges.

Defense Minister Bill Blair testified that the planned internal cuts will be "surgical" and will not affect the capacity of the Canadian Armed Forces. However, he acknowledged that pressing the federal cabinet to increase overall defense spending has been an "uphill battle." Canada currently spends 1.23% of its GDP on defense, ranking 26th out of 31 NATO member countries, and is the only member failing to meet both the 2% spending threshold and the requirement to allocate at least one-fifth of the defense budget to equipment.

The underfunding of Canada's military has led to material consequences, including the inability to pledge a significant contingent of troops to Latvia in 2022, limited participation in a 10-nation alliance to counter Houthi attacks on civilian shipping in the Red Sea, and the inability to participate in a NATO air exercise over Europe in June 2023 due to the majority of the RCAF fleet being in maintenance.

Despite the challenges, recent polls have shown a surge in public support for increased defense spending. A June 2023 Angus Reid Institute poll found that 24% of Canadians believe military preparedness should be Canada's top foreign affairs priority, while an August 2023 Ipsos poll revealed that 75% of respondents support boosting defense spending.

In April 2024, the Canadian government outlined a major overhaul of its defense spending, including $8.1 billion for new equipment and a plan to purchase new fighter jets. The plan aims to bring Canadian defense spending to 1.76% of GDP by 2029-30. Defense Minister Blair emphasized the importance of defense spending in the face of Chinese and Russian expansionism in the Arctic, citing the need for countries like Canada to invest in new and emerging military technologies.

Gen. Eyre criticized the new defense plan, stating,"This policy wasn't as quick as we wanted, and it didn't give us everything we needed... but I will tell you it's more than I expected, a lot more than I expected to implement it. "As the Department of National Defence navigates the conflicting priorities and contradictory approach to military funding, the readiness and capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces hang in the balance.

Key Takeaways

• Canada's military faces contradictory funding directives: budget cuts and increased spending.
• Gen. Wayne Eyre says reconciling these directives is a significant challenge.
• Canada's defense spending is low, ranking 26th out of 31 NATO member countries.
• Underfunding has led to material consequences, including limited troop deployments and exercise participation.
• Public support for increased defense spending is growing, with 75% of Canadians in favor of boosting spending.