Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his fellow provincial leaders are united in pushing for Canada to meet its NATO defence spending targets ahead of schedule, and that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “surprised” to hear it.
Ford — currently chair of the Council of the Federation of Canada’s Premiers — told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an exclusive Canadian broadcast interview airing Sunday that the premiers are making the ask amid U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threats of new tariffs, and conveyed it to the prime minister in his meeting with the premiers last week.
“No, (Trudeau) didn’t confirm he was going to do it,” Ford said when asked whether the prime minister made commitments to accelerating defence spending ahead of the government’s 2032 target.
“He was surprised that we had so much interest in it,” Ford added. “But that’s the next thing: president-elect Trump will say, you need to meet your two per cent [of GDP] NATO commitments, and he’s right. We need to hit our two per cent, and we need to make sure we secure the borders.”
The incoming U.S. president vowed to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico from his first day back in the Oval Office until the neighbouring countries meet a slate of demands including to stop the flow of illegal drugs and migrants across the borders.
Trump’s announcement of the move on social media Monday set off alarm bells across Canada, and prompted that emergency meeting between the prime minister and all the premiers.
Trudeau also then made a surprise visit to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday night, for a three-hour dinner with Trump and several other guests, during which senior government sources tell CTV News that defence was a topic of conversation.
When asked whether accelerating Canada’s defence-spending timeline was part of the discussion between the prime minister and the premiers, Ford said “it was,” and that the premiers were “unanimous.”
“Quite a few premiers spoke out,” Ford said, before giving credit to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who he said “led the charge” on the issue.
“We can’t wait years down the road,” Ford also said. “We need to do it immediately.”
Several U.S. politicians have warned that Canada should look to meet its defence spending targets sooner than currently planned, both to honour its NATO commitment and to make inroads with the incoming Trump administration.
Earlier this month, U.S. House intelligence committee chair and Ohio Rep. Mike Turner told CTV’s Question Period in exclusive Canadian broadcast interview that Canada is “already past due” on its commitments. Likewise, in an interview for Question Period, Trump’s former ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft said 2032 is “not good enough,” and that “Donald Trump, when he says he expects people to pay their fair share, they will.”
NATO members agreed to the target of two per cent of GDP at the Wales Summit a decade ago, and pledged to meet that goal by this year. According to NATO figures, 23 of 32 member countries are on track to meet the pledge this year.
Trump has threatened on multiple occasions to pull the U.S. out of NATO, and said this summer he would withhold American protections and allow an attacking Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to member countries if they don’t meet their spending target.
Ontario, meanwhile, is set to receive $27 billion in transfers from the federal government in 2024-25. When asked whether he would be willing to give up some of that money, for Ottawa to instead direct it toward defence, Ford insisted Ontario gives “more money to the federal government than they give back to us.”
“What they need to do is allocate the right amount of spending to protect our country, protect NATO countries around the world, and make sure that we take care of our men and women, women serving in our Armed Forces,” he said.
When pressed on the trade-off being a likely steeper federal budget deficit, Ford said it’s up to the federal government to manage its own books, as is the case for Ontario, which at this point, “has a path to balance.”
“I think what they have to do is review all their finances and make sure they set priorities, no matter if it’s defence spending or health care or any other area that they’re involved in,” Ford said. “And that’s up to them to make sure that they can balance their books and reduce their debt, and so on so forth.”
The premier in his interview also discussed the calls for more resources for border enforcement, for which Ford said federal officials insisted during the meeting that there will be a plan, though they didn’t provide a timeline.
He also discussed the criticisms Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre levied at Trudeau this week. Poilievre called the prime minister too “weak” to engage with Trump, and Ford declined to echo the characterization.
With files from CTV News Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos