Canada to increase military spending 70 percent in 10 years

TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s defense chief announced Wednesday that the country plans to sharply increase its military budget following pressure from the Trump administration to bolster spending.

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said military spending will grow 70 percent to reach $32.7 billion Canadian ($24.1 billion) in a decade. That means Canada would spend about 1.4 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2026-27, up from about 1.2 percent now.

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO’s member countries increase their spending on defense forces. The U.S. accounts for more than 70 percent of all NATO military spending. Only Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland now meet the NATO goal of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said he was “heartened” by Canadian policy.

Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/canada-to-increase-military-spending-70-percent-in-10-years/