Canada to join major European rearmament deal as early as June 23: sources

at present sources with knowledge of the thing say Carney is expected to fall in the rearmament sell as betimes as June 23, when he meets with European leaders in Brussels at the EU-Canada summit.

Carney hinted on Monday this summit will "be more important than ever."

"Canada will arrive at this summit with a plan to lead, with new investments to build our strength in service of our values," Carney said.

Why Europe would consider inviting Canada into a defence pact

The prime minister has said he's been in talks with European countries for months about closer defence co-operation. Carney wants to build up Canada's defence capabilities and expand its military suppliers beyond the U.S. As President Donald Trump wages a trade war on Canada and most of the world.

"Over 75 cents on every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That's not smart," Carney told Power & Politics host David Cochrane on May 27.

Carney said it would be better to "spend more at home" with "diversified partnerships."

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen first proposed the plan called ReArm Europe in March to bolster the continent's military capabilities during global threats, Russia's ongoing invasion in Ukraine and uncertainty with the United States.

The plan, renamed Readiness 2030, includes boosting European defence spending by up to 800 billion euros, including a 150-billion euro loan program to pay for more military technology and weapons. It's unclear how much money Canada would contribute.

Carney announced more than $9 billion in new military spending this fiscal year on Monday — and said Canada must further increase defence spending in the years to come.

Once Canada joins the European deal, the government will have to decide what initiative it wants to launch and which countries it will partner with. The list of potential projects includes air and missile defence, drones and anti-drone systems, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.

"The first step is joining the club. The next step is deciding what projects you want to work on with other club members," said Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. 

Ahead of the EU-Canada summit, Carney is also expected to announce more support for Ukraine.

As part of Carney's promise to increase defence spending this year, supplementary estimates this week show the government has earmarked $2 billion for military aid to Ukraine and to expand defence partnerships.

Carney is hosting this year's summit and invited Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who hopes to urge Trump to move forward with a stronger sanctions package on Russia. 

Canada will hit 2% NATO spending target by March: Carney

Three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it continues to push forward in the Donbas region where Ukrainians are progressively losing "more and more" territory, Perry said. 

Ukraine needs armoured vehicles, artillery systems, ground-based air defence systems and munitions, he said. 

"They need help repairing all of the critical infrastructure the Russians are going after," he said. "They need the funding to basically keep the government of Ukraine solvent … they need a whole range of things."

Senior reporter

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