Premier welcomes federal plan to meet NATO spending target

Nova Scotia’s premier is applauding the prime minister’s decision to meet the NATO spending target of two per cent of GDP.

Tim Houston says the move will better protect the country as a whole.

“Nova Scotia is ready to step up to help protect Canada while creating good-paying jobs through manufacturing, technology and the development of the critical minerals and raw materials needed to rebuild our military right here,” the premier wrote in a statement issued Monday afternoon.

Mark Carney says Canada’s defence is too dependent on an increasingly unreliable United States and his government will look to partner more with European allies it moves to build up the domestic industrial base.

In his statement, Houston points to Nova Scotia’s proud history of military service, saying the province has the most military members per capita in the country.

“Our province is home to a significant portion of Canada’s military assets, including the country’s most populated military base, CFB Halifax, the regional office of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), and the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount.”

As part of his announcement, the prime minister promised new spending on submarines, aircraft, surface ships and armed land vehicles.