Most Canadians want increase in defence spending: Poll

Article content

OTTAWA — Spending an extra $20 billion to bring defence spending to its mandated NATO minimum is something Canadians approve of, say new poll numbers.

Released on Tuesday, the new Angus Reid survey suggests two-thirds of Canadians support Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement Monday to boost Canada’s defence spending to two per cent of our GDP — a minimum requirement under NATO that Canada has never achieved since the alliance introduced the benchmark in 2006.

That plan, Carney said Monday, will ensure “Canada is strong at home and reliable abroad,” and prioritize made-in-Canada manufacturing and supply chains.

Sixty-eight per cent of those polled are in favour of increasing Canada’s defence spending — with 51% wanting Canada to stop at two per cent, while 17% say they’d like to see spending go even higher.

Twenty-three per cent want to keep spending where it is — currently 1.37% of GDP — while just 10% want defence spending reduced.

Broken down by party, 71% of Liberal supporters and 76% of Conservatives want defence spending increased, dropping to 55% for Bloc Quebecois voters, and 51% for NDP supporters.

Unsurprisingly, NDP supporters were most likely to want defence spending decreased at 21%.

With word this week that NATO’s considering increasing defence spending benchmarks as high as five per cent, 47% say a spending increase that high would take away from other priorities, while 36% described it as a fair target.

Despite this, a plurality of Canadians aren’t confidence the extra money will result in a stronger military.

Forty-six per cent say they’re not that confident the Liberal government will make significant progress in strengthening our armed forces, compared to 44% who say they do.

Canada’s efforts to distance itself from the United States also includes Canada signing onto the ReArm Europe defence plan, a deal Carney is hoping to ink by Canada Day.

Sixty per cent described this plan as a good idea, while just 23% said Canada should remain close to the United States.

Canada, Carney said on Monday, needs to find ways to stop sending three-quarters of our defence capital spending to the United States. 

The poll was conducted among 4,067 Canadian adults between June 2 and June 8, 2025 via the Angus Reid Forum.

As margins-of-error cannot be applied to online panels, a comparable probability sample would yield one no greater than ±1.5%, 19 times out of 20.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video