A bigger defence budget may increase Canada’s hollow force risk

To prevent this from happening, a force capacity review must accompany new defence budgets and funding streams.
Defence Minister David McGuinty. To rebuild, rearm, and reinvest in the CAF, we must avoid the temptation to spend large streams of defence funding forthcoming in the fall and subsequent budgets in unstrategic ways, writes Andrew Erskine.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion
BY ANDREW ERSKINE
September 17, 2025

As it stands, Ottawa’s defence-related spending is set to top $62-billion. After reaching NATO’s spending target of two per cent of GDP in 202...

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