NATIONAL PULSE – Most of us believe Canada is falling behind on military

By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

June 2, 2023 – Canada’s defence spending has been subject to international headlines in recent months after news that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately admitted this country will likely never spend two per cent of its GDP on defence, as NATO allies agreed to do.

It appears that Canadians share many of the international community’s concerns about underspending.

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds seven-in-ten Canadians saying Canada is falling behind in terms of its military capabilities. In 2015 this number was approximately half (52%). Further, there has also been a 10-point increase in the number of Canadians concerned that Canada’s diplomatic influence is waning – from 46 per cent in 2015 to 56 per cent now.

Canada counters its critics by noting that it has the sixth-largest defence spending totals within NATO and contributes heavily to the organization’s common fund for operations expenses.

Nonetheless, after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated recently that two per cent should be considered more a floor than a ceiling in terms of ideal targets for participating nations.

Whether it’s these discussions about spending or the Russia-Ukraine conflict, or concerns over protecting Canada’s arctic territory, Canadians are increasingly concerned about military preparedness.

The percentage saying that this principle should be key among Canada’s international priorities has doubled since 2015 from 12 to 24 per cent. Trade ties remain top choice among the three options – half choose this, down seven points over the same period from 57 per cent. One-quarter would focus on foreign aid and humanitarian causes – a foundational principle in Canada’s foreign policy history.

In this area – foreign aid – Canadians are most bullish about their nation’s contributions. Three-in-five (60%) say Canada is keeping up on this front, up three points compared to 2015.

More Key Findings:

• Men over the age of 34 are most likely to hold the view that Canada is falling behind in its military preparedness (four-in-five say so) and say that Canada’s priorities should be shifting more toward this, rather than trade and foreign aid.

• Past Conservative voters are twice as likely as past Liberals to say that military preparedness should be the top priority for Canada in international affairs (39% versus 19%). Half among each group choose “building better international trade ties”, while past Liberals are three times as likely to say foreign aid should be the focus (31% versus 10%).

• Three-in-five Canadians (62%) say that Canada needs to do more to protect is Arctic territory in response to an increase in Russian and Chinese military activities in the area.

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/