OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to make a significant announcement regarding Canada’s defense and security priorities today in Toronto. The announcement is scheduled for 10 a.m., followed by a tour of a local military facility. Carney will then hold a news conference at 1 p.m.

This announcement comes on the heels of a recent NATO meeting in Brussels, where defense ministers discussed increasing the alliance's spending target on defense to as much as five percent of GDP. Currently, Canada has not met NATO's existing target of two percent, which has been in place since 2006. This issue is expected to be a focal point when NATO leaders convene later this month in the Netherlands.

During his recent election campaign, Carney pledged to accelerate Canada’s timeline for achieving the two percent spending target, moving the deadline from 2032 to 2030 or sooner. However, he has yet to disclose a specific plan to reach this goal.

According to the NATO secretary-general’s annual report released in April, Canada’s defense spending is projected to reach approximately 1.45 percent of GDP in 2024. This figure highlights the ongoing challenges Canada faces in meeting NATO's defense spending expectations.