By Robert Farley
Canada’s military budget is not small; in 2012 it spent US$22.5 billion on defense (PDF), about 3.2 percent of the American budget but nevertheless good for 14th in the world, and seventh in the Pacific (well ahead of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan).
Canada’s strategic position does not demand this level of expenditure; Mexico, on the other side of the United States, devotes a mere 0.5 percent of its GDP to defense, as compared to 1.3 percent for Canada. Canadian membership in NATO and its history of support for the transatlantic partnership between London and Washington explain its much more significant defense profile. Generations of Canadian leaders have determined that the best way to maximize Canadian security and influence is to work closely with the United States and Great Britain, contributing when possible while avoiding the most questionable adventures, such as Vietnam and Iraq.
But the relevance of the London-Washington axis to Canadian security is in decline. The transatlantic relationship may or may not have withered, but its relevance to Canada’s current strategic problems is unclear. The Canadian Forces have traditionally been oriented towards the Atlantic, but Canada’s economic interests in Asia continue to grow. Nonetheless, Canada’s interest in making a significant military commitment to the Pacific is an open question as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) remains an Atlantic force, despite some additional attention to the Pacific.
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