Canadian military spending by the numbers

With Prime Minister Stephen Harper defending his government’s record on military spending amid pressure from some NATO allies to do more, the Citizen takes a closer look at the numbers and what they mean.

$19 billion: Canadian defence spending last year.

$16.1 billion: Canadian defence spending last year, when adjusted for inflation to 2005 figures.

$16 billion: Canadian defence spending in 2005, the year before the Conservatives came to power.

1 per cent: Amount of Canada’s gross domestic product spent on defence last year. This is the number that analysts and allies look at closest as a way to compare between different NATO members and different points in time.

1.1 per cent: Average amount of Canada’s GDP spent on defence annually between 2000 and 2004. This is during the height of the so-called “decade of darkness” under previous Liberal governments.

1.8 per cent: Average amount of Canada’s GDP spent on defence annually between 1990 and 1994. This is during the tail end of the Cold War.

Two per cent: The amount of GDP that NATO has long asked its members to spend on defence.

2009: Canadian defence spending peaks at 1.4 per cent of GDP under the federal Conservative government. This also marks the peak of Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan.

28: Total number of NATO members.

Seven: Number of NATO members spending the same or less on defence as a share of GDP than Canada last year. They are Belgium, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Slovak Republic and Spain.

1.7 per cent: The amount Canada’s GDP grew last year over 2012.

Eight: Number of NATO members that had the same or better GDP growth. They are Albania, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Turkey and the United States.

-7.6 per cent: Decline in Canadian defence spending last year from 2012.

Four: Number of NATO members who cut defence spending as much or more than Canada in percentage terms. They are Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

Source: NATO