‘All about’ NATO: bulk of feds’ $5.4-billion spending request boosts defence programs

The $2.2-billion request for defence spending is ‘all tied’ to meeting NATO’s defence spending target, says Canadian Global Affairs Institute’s Craig Stone, but Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Christopher Coates says it should be seen as 'long overdue' modernization of the Armed Forces.

National Defence Minister David McGuinty’s department is requesting $1.2-billion in funds, with an additional $1-billion being requested by the Treasury Board for ‘defence and security initiatives.’ The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY ELEANOR WAND

February 16, 2026

The government is asking MPs to approve almost $5.4-billion in new spending in the latest round of estimates for this fiscal year, with $2.2-billion of that funding requested for defence-related files.

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