Prime Minister Mark Carney's goal of hitting NATO's defence spending target of two per cent of gross domestic product this year will be an uphill — nearly impossible — battle, say experts and critics.

An extra $8.7 billion is earmarked for defence spending by the Department of National Defence (DND) or other government departments, and $370 million for the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). Allies had been pushing Canada to meet NATO's goal for nearly 20 years — but actually doing so became imperative with Donald Trump in the White House.

"Mark Carney's words are right, but he's gotta crack the whip here real quick," said John Ball, a former Canadian defence industry executive for nearly four decades and now consultant.

NATO defines defence expenditures as payments made by a n

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