On Monday, Canada promised to spend more than $ 30 billion over the next two decades to help detect and track military threats from Russia and China in the Arctic.
The expenditure will be one of Canada’s largest expenditures for several decades in favor of strengthening the country’s military capabilities. In doing so, it will fulfill a promise given to the United States to modernize Canada’s military capabilities to protect North America as part of the North American Space and Air Defense Command, Norad.
Military analysts have repeatedly warned in recent years that Norad’s radar and satellite imaging capabilities need to be upgraded, given that Russia has developed a new generation of long-range cruise missiles launched from the air and sea, as well as hyper-Sunni missiles. China is also developing such missiles.
New vulnerabilities to North America
Senior Canadian officials say the threat in the north has become more serious since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Former military commanders say Russia now has the capability to conduct prolonged military operations in the Arctic, given that Russia’s military facilities on the country’s north coast have recently been used. The melting ice dome leaves the Arctic Ocean, which was once impassable, empty of ice for long periods, creating new vulnerabilities to North America.
Canada last year promised to increase spending to improve its capabilities in the north, after President Biden called on the Canadian government to increase spending on security and military in the region.
Against this backdrop, in recent weeks U.S. government officials have criticized Canada for dragging its feet in spending on military issues.
Canada’s Defense Secretary Anita Anand said the government intends to spend $ 30 billion over two decades, with nearly $ 4 billion of that coming out in the next six years. At a press conference held at the air base about 290 km south of Ottawa, Anand said spending in the near term would focus on setting up a new surveillance and early warning system covering the Arctic Circle.
The existing surveillance system, once considered the “pinnacle of technology” and built to provide the U.S. and Canada with an impending warning, has become obsolete over the years, say military analysts and former senior commanders.
“The threat environment has changed,” Anand said, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It required the development of a new chapter in protecting the continent.” She said the focus is on the North Pole “and Russia’s proximity to northern Canada.”
The minister did not specify how and when the additional $ 26 billion will be allocated, or details about when the updated version of the radar and surveillance system will become operational.
Canada has neglected defense spending
Anand has already promised a significant increase in Canadian military spending for many months before Monday, alongside a plan to modernize Norad’s early warning systems. Several senior U.S. officials, including Canada Ambassador David Cohen, have already begun to question those promises.
Cohen told the National Post last month that the liberal government’s public statements on defense spending and improving defense capabilities are not backed by decisions made so far. On Monday, after Canada unveiled spending plans to improve military intelligence in the Arctic, Cohen said the U.S. welcomes Ottawa’s commitment to protecting North America and strengthening the continent’s security.
The latest data from NATO indicate that Canada’s military spending is about 1.4% of Canada’s GDP, slightly less than NATO’s target of 2%.
Ansa Kimball, a professor of politics and international relations at Laval University in Quebec City, said Canada had invested far less in protecting the Arctic compared to the US, Russia and smaller countries like Sweden and Finland.
Canada, she said in a recent interview, has relied on other countries to lift the glove when it comes to protecting the Pole. “Everyone wanted Canada to do more at the pole,” she said. “Canada has kicked a can down the road, but it’s something that can only be done for a limited time.”