Canada to announce new security and defence investment plan, Globe and Mail reports
June 9 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will unveil a new security and defence investment plan on Monday that would enable Canada to meet NATO's 2% military spending target this fiscal year, the Globe and Mail reported, citing two senior government sources.
The spending increase, worth billions of dollars, will allow Canada to meet NATO's 2% target in the fiscal year ending next March and exceed it in future years, the report said.
NATO's current defence spending goal of at least 2% of GDP is met by 22 of its 32 members. Canada was near the bottom of the list in 2024, according to estimates published by the alliance.
The plan will include higher pay for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, new aircraft, armed vehicles, ammunition, new drones and more sensors to monitor the sea floor and the Arctic, the Globe and Mail said.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
The spending announcement would come days before a June 24-25 summit of NATO leaders.
Reuters reported last month that NATO chief Mark Rutte had proposed alliance members should boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a 5% target.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- The Guardian
An Indigenous nation in Canada hails historic constitution: ‘We're now the architects of certainty for ourselves'
When outsiders arrived in the lands of the Heiltsuk people, they brought with them a rapacious appetite for the region's trees, fish and minerals. Settlers and the government soon followed, claiming ownership of the thick cedar forests, the fjords and the abundance of life. Heiltsuk elders were confused. 'If these are truly your lands,' they asked, 'where are your stories?' For the Heiltsuk, stories explain everything from the shape of a local mountain to the distinct red fur fringes on the sea wolves stalking shores. They tell of the flesh-eating monster baxbakwa'lanuxusiwe, whose entire body was covered with snapping mouths before it was destroyed by a shaman and became a cloud of mosquitoes. Passed down over generations, in ceremonies forbidden by Canada's government, the stories weave together the physical world, the supernatural and the liminal space that binds the two. Such stories are also the bedrock of the Heiltsuk's newly created constitution, a document recently ratified through ceremony that asserts the nation's long-held convictions that they are the original inhabitants and rightful stewards of the region's future. The declaration comes at a time when Canada's own sovereignty is under threat, and when the first peoples are increasingly using their political power to reclaim territories and customs from a colonial project that once sought to destroy them. Tucked inside the north-east tip of Campbell Island, the town of Bella Bella is the largest outpost for the Heiltsuk nation, a seafaring people 40,000 strong who once populated dozens of villages within the broader archipelago along British Columbia's central Pacific coast. They warred, traded and allied with surrounding nations, finding sustenance and wealth in the lands and waters of the rugged coastline. And over thousands of years, the Heiltsuk and their neighbours developed systems of governance that relied on hereditary chiefs to serve as political, cultural and environmental caretakers. But decades of hostile government policies – including the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families, and a system of residential schools that attempted to kill off the culture of Indigenous peoples – upended such systems of governance. For decades until 1973, staff at the Bella Bella hospital forcibly sterilized Heiltsuk men and women, who were classified as wards of the state under federal law. 'We've had the foot on our throats … and it's been hard to make the leap across the hatred, discrimination and racism towards our people,' said λáλíyasila Frank Brown, a Heiltsuk hereditary chief. 'But the constitution marks that transition away.' After decades of consultation with legal experts and community members, the new Heiltsuk constitution enshrines a framework in which power and decision-making authority is shared by hereditary leadership, the elected chief and council, and the nation's women's council. It governs the relationship with the land and ocean, citizenship, language and culture. While it does not have the force of law in the eyes of the provincial or federal governments, the move marks an attempt to restore a system of coherent governance destroyed by colonial powers. What is Canada's Indian Act? Canada's Indian Act – first passed in 1876 and a version of which is still in effect today – is a controversial piece of legislation that governs the relationship between the federal government and Indigenous peoples. When first introduced, the law imposed strict control over the lives of Indigenous peoples. They were made to live on reserves and couldn't leave without permission from federal agents. Under the act, children were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to live in institutions that had the aim of stripping away their culture, language and identity. Until 1951, the Act barred Indigenous peoples from retaining legal counsel and those with 'Indian status' were seen as wards of the federal government, similar to minors. Even though Indigenous people fought for Canada during two world wars, it wasn't until 1960 that 'status Indians' were permitted to vote in federal elections. At times, the federal government stripped people of their 'Indian status' meaning they lost rights granted to them under treaties. The 1867 Indian Act – legislation that governs the country's relationship with Indigenous peoples – created elected band councils with the aim of stripping away authority from hereditary chiefs. 'People were confused,' said Q̓íx̌itasu Elroy White, who serves as both a hereditary chief and elected councillor. 'They weren't sure who held power and many felt the elected band members didn't have legitimacy. This new constitution changes that.' The Heiltsuk have long seen a clear distinction between the hereditary chiefs, who oversee cultural preservation through oral history, and the bureaucratic role of councillors. By enshrining the power of both elected members and hereditary chiefs, the nation has established a political system ready to weather internal fractures. Elsewhere in British Columbia, hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen people broke with the elected council over a natural gas pipeline, prompting a feud which spawned intense protests and police raids. The Heiltsuk, aware that outsiders hope to one day log their forests or fish their waters, want a unified voice in any proposal. 'We're now the architects of certainty for ourselves and for other governments operating within our unceded territories,' said Brown, noting that like most nations in the province of British Columbia, the Heiltsuk never signed away their lands in treaties, nor did they surrender them in battle. It was women who kept Heiltsuk culture alive during sustained efforts by the federal government and the province to crush Indigenous identity. In 1885 Canada passed a law banning the potlatch, a ritualized ceremony that underpins the legal, political, economic and social networks binding the communities with neighbouring nations. A mandatory jail sentence was imposed on anyone breaking the law, which was only repealed in 1951. Frances Brown was nine years old when elders began teaching her the songs and stories of her people. 'At the time I didn't understand, but I know now they were grooming me to be a strong Heiltsuk woman. They were working to keep our songs and our stories alive through me.' Brown, now 66, serves on the W̓úm̓aqs du M̓ṇúyaqs – the women's council – that advises elected councillors and hereditary chiefs. 'We [women] have always been brought up to believe and know that we are the backbone of our community. We are the advisers to the chiefs,' she said. 'Through the constitution, they're formally returning our rightful place in our traditional governance system.' Brown, whose mother is one of the few remaining fluent speakers of the Híɫzaqv language, has also spent the last two decades fighting to ensure the language, woven into the constitution, is protected. 'Híɫzaqv connects us to our creation stories. It connects us to our land, our seas, our way of life and laws of our ancestors that were practiced prior to colonization,' said Brown. 'We never gave up on that as a people. And today, we're renewing and reclaiming our ancestral laws.' The constitution has been ratified at a time when Canada's own sovereignty has come under pressure. Donald Trump has brazenly threatened to annex the country, and separatists in the Prairie provinces – motivated by long-held grievances towards eastern political elites – have angered Indigenous groups by ignoring the treaties that give legitimacy to the region that now wants to secede. Against that backdrop, members of the Heiltsuk Nation have not sought recognition from any external governments, including the Crown. While other Indigenous nations were invited to the ratification feast in late May, Canada's provincial and federal governments were not. 'We know who our leadership is and what we stand for,' said Marilynn Slett, the community's elected chief. 'That's what led us to where we are today.' To the beat of the singers' drums, children performed dances, gifted to the Heiltsuk by the Haida nation, on the sandy floor of the Gvakva'aus Hailzaqv, or House of the Heiltsuk. The two nations, which renewed their alliance through a peace treaty potlatch in 2015, are both leading a push for greater sovereignty over their lands. In 1996, the Heiltsuk won a landmark supreme court case when the justices found the nation had a pre-existing right to harvest herring eggs commercially. And last year, after decades of negotiation, the province of British Columbia said more than half a million hectares of Crown land would be returned to the Haida nation. Canada's federal government followed suit earlier this year. Both cases marked the first time either level of government had willingly recognized an Indigenous nation's inherent right to the land they occupied before colonization. But the Heiltsuk's decision to develop and implement their own constitution has also resulted in friction with neighbouring nations. In a February letter, members of the Nuxalk, Kitasoo Xai'xais and Wuikinuxv nations said they 'strongly disagree[d]' with the territorial claims made in the Heiltsuk constitution and called on the Heiltsuk to correct the 'inaccurate and historically false' territorial claims. Slett said they had invited concerned nations to visit and discuss the issue using traditional protocols. For a younger, and often highly educated generation, the fight for a constitution reflects a broader shift in how they conceive of their community's identity and place within the Canadian project. 'The previous generation wanted to tear down colonial systems. We want to rebuild our own,' said Saul Brown, a 32-year-old lawyer and councillor. A key figure in the drafting of the constitution, Brown anticipates there will be challenges when Heiltsuk law runs counter to Crown law, but he said those fights were secondary to a broader aim of his people. 'It's not just this hatred or righteous anger at these historical and contemporary wrongs. It's the love for our own people. We're not turning our back from state recognition. We're just saying we don't need it. We need to recognize our law first.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's secretary clarifies Elon Musk 'body-check' incident
Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (pictured) faced an unusual line of questioning on Wednesday when he testified on Capitol Hill. During a hearing on his department's budget before the Ways and Means Committee, Bessent was grilled about whether he really tackled Elon Musk in the White House last month. 'Mr. Secretary, how are you doing?' Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) (pictured) said innocuously. 'So far, so good,' Bessent quipped back. 'Okay. I was just curious because I know Elon Musk body checked you at the White House. No animosity to Elon Musk, right?' Gomez continued. 'You know that?' Bessent asked about the sparring event. 'That's what I heard,' Gomez responded. Bessent had been partaking in three days of trade negotiations in London and had not yet been questioned about the story. 'So you believe, you believe what you read on Breitbart is what you are telling us, Congressman,' Bessent pressed. 'I didn't know ... If it's too sensitive for you I won't ask that question, but let me move' Gomez flubbed. 'I will take South Carolina over South Africa any day', Bessent replied, referring to his home state versus Musk's nation of birth. Musk was spotted with a black eye as he delivered a sort of farewell address in the Oval Office upon departing from his role as a 'special government employee' heading up Trump's Department of Government Efficiency DOGE). At the time, Musk claimed that the black eye was the result of roughhousing with his young son, X í¿ A-12, who is more commonly know as X. But speculation grew as more was revealed about his tense standoff with Bessent. Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told in May that Musk's turbulent time in the White House was marred when he was confronted over wild promises to save the administration 'a trillion dollars'. That's when an irate Musk physically 'shoved' 62-year-old Bessent. 'Scott Bessent called him out and said, "You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you're at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?"' Bannon revealed. And that's when Elon got physical. It's a sore subject with him. 'It wasn't an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
TSX futures fall as Middle East tensions weigh on sentiment
June 12 (Reuters) - Futures linked to Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday as optimism over tame U.S. inflation figures waned, while escalating tensions in the Middle East prompted investors to adopt a more cautious stance. June futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.3% at 05:30 a.m. ET (09:30 GMT). The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index had reached a record closing high on Wednesday after U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in May, boosting prospects for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in coming months. Geopolitical concerns dampened investor sentiment on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced some U.S. personnel were being relocated from the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran. In commodities, gold prices rose to a one-week high. Copper prices also climbed, while oil prices eased, reversing earlier gains made during Asian trading. Markets faced additional uncertainty as Trump said on Wednesday that he was willing to extend the deadline for trade talks, although he deemed it unlikely, with the U.S. planning to send offer letters to countries in the coming weeks. This week's focus centered on U.S.-China trade talks, which resulted in a deal to restore their truce. Despite the progress, longstanding tensions persisted as some tariffs remained in place. With Trump's July 8 tariff pause deadline approaching, investors are concerned about whether other countries can secure trade agreements with the U.S. In corporate news, Ivanhoe Mines ( opens new tab said it had resumed underground mining in part of its Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had been closed due to seismic activity, but lowered its output forecast for the year. FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES: TSX market report Canadian dollar and bonds report CA/ Reuters global stocks poll for Canada , Canadian markets directory
