NATO 5% pledge to add $63B to deficit by 2035, budget watchdog says

Meeting NATO’s 5 Percent Spending Target Could Add $63B to Deficit, PBO Says

Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer says meeting NATO’s defence spending target of 5 percent of GDP will add $63 billion to Canada’s federal budget deficit by 2035. Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Jason Jacques noted in his Feb. 5 report that the government has not published projections on how it will meet the 5 percent target, but estimated the cost will amount to approximately $33.5 billion per year over the next 10 years. That analysis p…

Fiscal watchdog warns defence targets will mean soaring deficits

OTTAWA — Canada’s fiscal watchdog projects that the Carney government’s commitment to increase defence spending to at least 5 per cent of the economy will increase the federal deficit by $63 billion a year over the next decade, almost twice what the deficit is currently expected to average over the next few years.   In a new report published Thursday, Jason Jacques, the interim Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), said the fiscal effect of meetin…

Canada’s 5% NATO pledge to add $63-billion to deficit over next decade, budget watchdog says

PBO says meeting the goal could cost about $33.5-billion more each year until 2035-36

NATO's new defence target could add $63B to federal deficit, PBO warns

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates the federal Defence Department budget will have to increase by $33.5 billion annually in order for Canada to meet NATO's revised defence spending targets. The watchdog also estimates that the higher defence spending could lead to substantially higher federal deficits.

NATO 5% pledge to hike deficit by $63B by 2035, budget watchdog says

The parliamentary spending watchdog says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to spend the equivalent of five per cent of GDP on defence by 2035 will push the federal budget deficit up by $63 billion in 2035.