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Mark Norman: Canada's defence-spending quagmire

We must never lose sight of the fact that spending the money is actually easier than rebuilding the Armed Forces

Countries don’t typically get report cards, but there are hard facts that can be collated, assessed and compared. Enter Benchmark Canada, a new project from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute that brings together more than 40 different metrics that measure this nation’s performance. This fall, the National Post is examining many of those findings.

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I was pleased to have been asked to contribute to the analysis of Canada’s defence spending and related metrics by the team at Benchmark Canada. I commend the process and believe it will be helpful in informing public discourse and debate about defence spending and the rebuilding of Canada’s military and security capabilities. With that said, however, building and maintaining an effective military is a complex undertaking and we should be careful what conclusions or inferences we draw from the analysis. I will refrain from focusing too much on the data itself, and instead I will try to provide context and a broader understanding of the implications of what the analysis tells us.

Mark Norman: Canada's defence-spending quagmire Back to video

The bottom-line up front — at least at the macro level — is that Canada has met its minimal NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP, and we appear to be on a viable trajectory toward achieving the revised targets of 3.5 per cent and ultimately five per cent over the coming decade or so. Although this might be considered a significant accomplishment, it simply puts Canada in compliance with the previously agreed target and removes the awkward and embarrassing distinction of “laggard” among our allies. Notwithstanding the considerable effort to achieve this result, little has actually changed in........

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