Defence Minister David McGuinty touted Canada’s plan to rebuild its military and accelerate defence spending during his first official bilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C.
McGuinty met with Hegseth at the Pentagon in Washington on Sept. 22 to discuss the Canada-U.S. defence relationship and military cooperation, noting the two countries share responsibility for defending North America through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
“Our two countries today, I think, Secretary, face serious evolving threats, aggressive state actors, global instability, cyber-attacks, the harsh impacts of natural security challenges like climate change,” McGuinty told Hegseth.
In June, Prime Minister Mark Carney and McGuinty announced Canada’s plan to massively increase military spending to meet NATO’s defence spending target of 2 percent of GDP by the end of the current fiscal year in March 2026. Hegseth called these commitments by Canada “a big deal.”
Speaking with Hegseth, McGuinty said Canada is “stepping up” in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions as it ramps up to meet the NATO commitments. However, he noted that the United States is Canada’s “closest single ally,” and that defending North America is Canada’s “top priority.”
“Canada’s locked in to protect the North, its people, its environment, and its strategic advantage,” McGuinty said. “It’s where our sovereignty, our national security and our partnership with the U.S. comes together strongest. So, from NORAD modernization to Arctic surveillance and infrastructure, we’re taking major and fast bold decisive action to shore up our collective defense.”
To rebuild its military, the minister said Canada is focusing on recruiting and retaining Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), modernizing infrastructure on 33 bases, upgrading digital defences, launching a new defence industrial strategy, cutting red tape, and securing access to critical minerals. He said this also includes “a major policy shift on integrated air and missile defence.”
