U.S. wants Canada to hit military spending target 'as rapidly as humanly possible': Biden's adviser

Canada and other countries that are laggards when it comes to military spending should hit the NATO-imposed target of spending two per cent of GDP «as rapidly as humanly possible,» U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser told reporters on the sidelines of the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax on Sunday.

Asked by CBC News if he's satisfied with Canada's recently announced plan to hit that spending target in eight years' time, Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration has pushed NATO countries to meet the spending threshold, and while some have complied, «there is still a set of countries that hasn't — Canada is one of them.»

Sullivan said that on Biden's watch, the number of NATO countries that meet or exceed the two per cent target has grown from nine to 23.

That means there are nine countries in the 32-member alliance that haven't reached a target that was first set at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Wales in 2014.

The two per cent threshold was initially established, according to NATO, to «help ensure the alliance's continued military readiness» and bulk up its capacity in the wake of Russia's invasion of Crimea and during a period of instability in the Middle East.

«The two per cent of GDP guideline is an important indicator of the political resolve of individual allies to contribute to NATO's common defence efforts,» NATO's policy statement says on the target.

While Sullivan welcomed what he called Canada's «historic» commitment to bulk up military spending, he reiterated that the United States would «like to see that two per cent target hit» quickly.

«For every country, we will always be in favour of getting to two per cent as rapidly as humanly possible,» he said.

It's the first time that a